x ｆ ｉ ｃ ｔ ｉ ｏ ｎ x
by SunshineGirl09
Summary: One book in one year, written about your partner. Game on. Oh wait, they're writing about you too. SoMa, TsuStar, KidLiz
1. Chapter 1

_One book in one year, written about your partner. Game on. Oh wait, they're writing about you too. [SoMa, TsuStar, KidLiz]  
><em>

_Rated M for Mature content_

_Genre: Romance, Suspense_

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x ｆ ｉ ｃ ｔ ｉ ｏ ｎ x

Ｓ ｕ ｎ ｓ ｈ ｉ ｎ ｅ Ｇ ｉ ｒ ｌ ０ ９

Maka

And it started sometime in the Japanese Literature class. I never knew that what we were going to be assigned to would later cause me so much heartache and high emotional pain. At the time, I didn't think it would be so bad, until I learned what it was _really _about.

Of course, other people didn't feel the same way.

Marie-sensei smiled warmly at us. I had always wondered about her eye patch and choice of apparel but decided not to ask.

It wasn't the first day of school. However, it was really only the first week of 10th grade at Shibusen, the first year of high school. I really hoped that this year would be better than 9th grade of junior high.

"I've got good news!" Marie declared in front of us, while we shuffled into class, casually putting down our books onto the desks.

There was a few murmurs while the room became more silent, compared to the loudness that usually resonated off the walls.

What could possibly be good news from her point of view? It better not be that she's pregnant because I had a growing suspicion, which I acquired through the first few weeks of school, that she was a love fanatic.

"We're going to have our first graded assignment and our last!" She announced, almost proudly,

Everyone in the class was obviously duped and confused. No one really understood the meaning. Of course there were people who obviously weren't thinking and were hooting and hollering. One boy, an obnoxious, blue haired maniac, made that quite clear.

Being the bookworm and nerd that I am, I wasn't exactly pleased with what she told us. One assignment...throughout the whole year...how were we supposed to learn the basics of literature and writing if we only had _one _assignment?

Marie clapped her hands, attempting to get out attention.

"Now listen here," She explained. "This certainly doesn't mean that we won't have any other graded assignments!"

Moans escaped from everyone and I found it sad that I was exhaling in relief.

"It's the first assignment that will be given and it will last the entire year and be turned in on the last day of school." Marie told us, bracing herself from the loud complaints of the classmates. I started to wonder how teenagers could be this rude.

"C'mon give us the assignment already!" It was the blue haired kid again and I was seriously ready to throw a wrench at him.

The eye that wasn't covered on Marie-sensei twitched.

"Okay." She remarked, scarily even toned. "You're all going to write a book."

I swear, everyone in the room seemed to collapse and the atmosphere went from alive to dead.

"A book?" A girl with long hair and big boobs asked. I remembered her from last year, Liz. Never knew her though.

"Yes," Marie confirmed.

"Too long..." Someone mumbled from the back. "Can't we just do an essay?"

"Will it take you an entire year to write one essay?" Marie challenged and I began to like her even more.

To be honest, the idea of writing a book sounded amazing. I always wanted to write but didn't want to appear as super nerdy but now I had an excuse to be writing everywhere I went. I could use life experiences as inspiration. Everything in my mind began to ploy. I was ready. Totally infatuated with idea of being able to write my own book without anyone calling it weird.

Little did I know that all my fantasies were about to be crushed.

"This book," Marie continued. "Is going to be all about someone in this classroom."

That's when I felt my ambition crushed. Someone in this classroom.

"But sensei," I argued raising my hand. "Wouldn't that be a biography?" I questioned.

The teacher seemed to be pleased by my question.

"It can be whatever you want." She said. "It can even be poetry. It can be made-up."

"Then what's the point?" A voice drawled.

And that's when I saw him. The scoundrel, disgusting, unbelievable boy with teeth that were ready to bite into any ray of sunlight that dared to streak through the treetops on a cloudy day. His white hair made me want to run my fingers through it and yank as hard as I could. But the worst, above all, were his eyes. Those horrible red eyes the drooped, showing lack of interest.

Marie-sensei looked at him confused.

"Couldn't we just make anything up then?" He wondered.

She then looked at him as if his comment was more helpful than man. I was already pissed at that stupid, shark toothed boy, so I didn't need anything else to set off my bad temper but this was adding to the pile.

"Which gives you the reason to get to know your partner." Marie replied with another smile. "You will be partnered up with someone at random and in order to write your stories about each other, you must understand each other. I'm not talking about love or hate. Just an understanding. Do any of you know what that means?"

There was a pause. Should I raise my hand? I felt like this was a trick question...

"To comprehend?" I answered with a questioning in my voice.

"No!"

I jumped so fast I bumped into the girl behind me, turning I apologized for accidentally hitting her desk. I noticed she was very pretty and had a large chest with blue eyes. She was very kind as she uttered her "No problem" back to me.

"That was a very mechanical response." Marie-sensei corrected. "I meant feelings."

There was a silence.

"WELL NO ONE FULLY UNDERSTANDS HOW AMAZING I AM!" Blue hair boy just chilling in the back seemed to like to burst out into these rants randomly.

Marie successfully ignored his outburst.

"You will all find out eventually if you do the assignment correctly." She informed us. "Now remember, there are no limitations to what you may write but your insight of your partner must be accurate and _trust _me. I will be able to tell once I read it."

Everyone looked at each other cautiously. Even I was a bit nervous. What was I going to do? This required interacting with someone that I probably didn't know which means they might be recommending what I should write or what if I get a creep and half to write about crap I don't care about.

"Is it time for me to pick partners?" Marie suggested.

"Wait we're not picking?" Liz demanded, annoyed.

"Of course not." Marie answered. "In fact, it'll be done completely at random."

That was the moment where I was preparing myself for death. If I had my own corner I'd be doing a coffin ritual right about now.

Marie sensei pulled out a list of names and closed her eyes.

"First person is..." Please not me...please not me. "Black Star."

"YAHOO THAT'S ME!" Oh god. I feel bad for whoever's unfortunate soul that get's stuck with him. Please not be me. "I WONDER WHO MY PARTNER WILL BE? THEY'LL BE SO LUCKY TO GET SOMEONE AS GOOD AS GOD! WHOO!"

Marie raised an eyebrow, watching him.

"And his partner is..." She rolled her finger down the list, eyes closed and stopped. "Nakatsukasa Tsubaki_."_

The girl behind me flinched. No way...I felt so bad for her.

"Sorry," I turned and whispered to her.

She gave me an awkward smile.

"I-It's okay."

Black Star appeared behind the girl and immediately started a whole conversation about his greatness. Me and the rest of the world tuned out except I think Tsubaki was trying her hardest to keep up.

A few more names went by. Liz was paired up with a boy named "Kid" and she seemed to be less than amused. Boys were paired together and so were girls, along with the occasional opposite sex but I was still waiting for my name.

"Maka Albarn." Marie finally said. I felt my heart beat faster. Here it was. My literature assignment for the rest of the year was- "Soul...Eater? Ev-"

"Please don't say my last name."

No. Way. In. Hell.

My head shakily turned to find red-eyed bastard speaking.

"H-Him!" I cried. "No!" Anyone besides him. What were the chances? I never thought we'd get paired up.

"Ew not her!" Soul countered. "She's not even hot."

Without even thinking, I hit him in the head with my textbook, making sure it hurt like hell.

"What the hell was that for?" He demanded.

"What do you think? Insulting me!"

We were both standing on our feet now, red faced and glaring at each other.

"I'm not about to change anything." Marie told us. "Please sit down."

I couldn't deal with this...how could I be partnered up with someone so...ick. The way he looked at everything so nonchalantly just pissed me off. Looking at him...just _seeing _was enough to make me mad.

We sat down reluctantly, making every effort to glare at each other. If he was the reason I failed my first assignment I would have to be his reason for his death.

I completely zoned out, something I don't normally do, while Marie explained the assignment in depth after the last names had been called. It's not like I needed to listen anyway. I was already screwed over the moment her finger pointed at his name. My dream of writing my own book, smashed in a split second.

"Any questions?" Marie wondered.

"What do we write on?" The boy named Kid raised his hand perfectly straight. He sat the same way and looked as if he were trying to appear better than everyone else. I heard Black Star murmur to Tsubaki, 'see that? he thinks he's better than me...'

"Good question." Marie-sensei said. "I would like you guys to go out and get a nice journal, but it must be that size of 8 inches by 11 inches, like a regular book. Hardcover preferred."

More groans came about but Marie seemed to have an uncanny ability to ignore complaining people.

"Class is almost up...I'll give you a few minutes to talk to your partners before we leave." She announced loudly.

Immediately there was chatter that arouse.

I got up and slammed my fist on Soul "Eater's" desk. What the hell kind of a name was that anyway?

"Listen!" I told him. "I'm pretty sure you know I don't want to write a story about a selfish, lowlife, dumbass like you!" Flames might as well have erupted from my flesh. This was all going towards him, the guy who called me flat chested.

Soul removed his foot that had been resting on top of the desk.

With a low voice, he remarked, "And I don't want to write a story about a spoiled, know-it-all, nerdy bitch like you."

Then it began.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note: <strong>Oh my god. I finally did it. I started a Soul Eater fanfic. I've been trying to get myself to do it for a long time. I'm taking a break from Naruto, which I've written four,complete full-length NejiTen stories for. Yesh. Lotsa work. Anyway. I think I might have new reviewers because I'm so used to my other Naruto peeps and some of you won't be used to my style ;) Just to let you know I always update. No joke. Just look at my profile stories because I've finished every one and don't do ones at the same time...normally. Unless something crazzzzzy comes up. Anywayyy I hope you enjoy this first chapter because I'm so excited to write a Soul Eater fic :)  
>~CHA!<p>

P.S. My chapters aren't normally this short. Depends on the time I'm writing them XD


	2. Chapter 2

_One book in one year, written about your partner. Game on. Oh wait, they're writing about you too. [SoMa, TsuStar, KidLiz]  
><em>

_Rated M for Mature content_

_Genre: Romance, Suspense_

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x ｆ ｉ ｃ ｔ ｉ ｏ ｎ x

Ｓ ｕ ｎ ｓ ｈ ｉ ｎ ｅ Ｇ ｉ ｒ ｌ ０ ９

Soul

The only thing dumber than writing a stupid story was writing it about a stupid person. I assumed Maka was smart but she had a pretty dumbass personality. Who honestly asks questions like hers in class? I didn't know her name until now but since the first day of school I noticed she's been trying to become little miss teacher's pet and god did that piss me off.

I couldn't stand someone like her, proudly wearing the preppy uniform the way it should be worn. Bringing all of her books to class...hitting me with her goddamn books at that. But the worst thing about her appearance were those fucking pigtails that she wore in her hair. It can be cute sometimes on a girl but to wear it every freaking day... come on. This isn't elementary.

She didn't seemed pleased with me either. I didn't really understand considering I was such a cool guy, all the girls probably wanted to be hooked up with me. Not that I was going to give them any information on me anyway though. This whole idea was completely idiot. Writing a story about someone, you didn't even know, in fact. I don't give a shit what Marie says; I'm making Maka a really crappy character. However, that should easily reflect on her personality.

While I was so thinking so complicatedly about how crazy I was going to make her in my story, she was glaring at me. Her green eyes were narrowed and her hands were placed on her hips, as if contemplating whether to hit me with her book again. I hoped that was a no.

Ignoring her, I turned to see my best friend, Black Star, trying to fire up his partner. What a lucky guy getting a busty, hot girl like Tsubaki while I was stuck with not chest, bookworm. Guess we all can't have that kind of luck.

"Are you even listening to me?" Maka finally shouted loud enough for me to hear.

To be honest, I didn't even know that she was talking. That wasn't on purpose either. Maybe her annoying voice just went through my head like a spike so I subconsciously decided to tune out.

"Not necessarily." I remarked, my cool voice slightly above a whisper.

"Well listen here," She continued briskly. "_I _don't want to get a bad grade on this so _please _do your best not to be a _ba-ka_!"

I rolled my eyes, looking up at her, hoping my blood red eyes were intimidating. It actually seemed to be working a little, considering she flinched the moment I actually looked her in the eye.

"Wh-what are you doing?" She demanded. "You're supposed to be helping me! Not glaring at me!"

Maka slammed her textbook on my desk and started to explain parts of a character and the depth they needed but I knew she wasn't interested in this bullshit when it came to me. She was just going to do whatever it took to make me the bad guy. Great.

"Don't tell me you honestly care about this crap, do you?" I inquired, fingering the book.

Maka wrinkled her nose.

"I care about writing okay?" She remarked.

Book nerd.

"But I _hate _you." She managed to add quickly.

"Good." I responded. "Then we're at an understanding."

How long does she think she can stand here and ramble on until my patience is worn out because it was getting pretty close. For being a nerdy chick, she sure was talkative. I missed the cliche nerds who were anti-social. If she were stereotypical she might even do my story for me but she wasn't like that and truly I thought she was a bitch.

Ugh. I hated these type of girls.

"Class is dismissed!" Marie called and thank god she did.

Lazily I got up, avoiding eye contact with Maka. I tried not to say a word as I left the classroom but she grabbed my collar.

"Where are _you _going, Soul _Eater_?" She interrogated.

"Lunch." I growled, prying her fingers away.

She folded her arms.

"Then we can work together." Maka informed me.

Yeah, I don't think so.

"Um. No." I replied. "I prefer keeping my sanity in check." Thinking about those words pricked my neck. I wasn't the only one who had said them before...I was becoming like _him_.

Before Maka could retort, I immediately said, "Gotta go, see you later flat-lands!"

Maka

I don't believe it. He called me 'flat lands' referring to my chest. Oh he was going to see hell next time we attempted to work together. I didn't care what he wanted I was bound to get a good grade with him, no matter what the cost. Even if it meant having to sit next to him at lunch to get him to work with me.

Just then, someone stepped on my heel.

"G-Gomenasai!"

Tsubaki feebly stepped to the side of me and waved. She looked dazed and confused. I didn't have to wonder why. Obviously Black Star had tired her out while speaking with her for no more than just five minutes.

"It's fine," I remarked, smiling. "Are _you _okay?"

She nodded.

"I think so." She told me. "I don't think Black Star's that bad. He's not _mean. _Just full of himself."

I sighed. Better that than Soul.

"Well Soul is horrible." I informed her. "He _is _mean."

Tsubaki shrugged.

"I guess we can't change fate." She responded then paused. "Do you have anyone to sit with you at lunch?"

I thought about Soul. There was no way in hell I _wanted _to sit with him. I just thought it would've been an easy time to do our books. But of course now that I had Tsubaki's invitation, I wanted to go with her.

"Nope...you open?" I wondered.

She smiled warmly.

"Of course."

Sweet.

Liz

This is not going to work. Why am I stuck with this rich baby? Kid looked bad ass but once you saw how he acted he's just a snobby, money boy. He's making me sit by him at lunch. There aren't _any _other partners from our class doing this. It's embarrassing. I wished my sis was here to slap him silly to the moon because I was getting pissed off.

"No! Liz! If we are going to be doing project on each other our journals should be symmetrical." Kid argued for the millionth time. This was getting old. I really could not deal with this right now.

"Fine!" I gave in. They can be symmetrical! Happy?"

He seemed to be pleased but I really didn't get what was with him. Sometimes he seemed so calm and polite then he saw something not symmetrical and burst into flames about how disgusting it was. I really was beginning to wonder with his immaturity at times if he was a child instead of a 10th grader.

And after we finished our argument on the journals he started to complain that there was more cheese on the left side of my cheeseburger. So I angrily remarked that there were more tomatoes on the left side of his salad than his right and he lost it.

Tsubaki

"How can this be so?" Kid bellowed from the other side of the lunch room so loudly I flinched.

Maka glanced over her shoulder, twitching with annoyance.

"He really doesn't care about the volume of his voice does he?" She wondered.

I neglected to tell her that when she was yelling at Soul she was just as loud if not louder...

"I must erase these disgusting tomatoes from the earth!" Kid cried, Liz sitting next to him, shaking her head. I felt sorry for her. He must've forced her to sit by her to convey the importance of the assignment.

To be honest, I was nervous about working with Black Star. Compared to me, his personality seemed amazing. He could just shout out what he wanted, whenever, not caring about the consequences. He seemed to be so carefree.

"So..." Maka awkwardly started. It was weird because we hardly knew each other and we were sitting alone at the lunch table. "Anyone you know from last year?"

I bit my lip. We had indeed gone to different schools so there were certain people that each of us didn't know.

"Well...Chrona." I said.

"Who's that?" Maka questioned, sticking a piece of sushi in her mouth with her chopsticks.

I didn't really want to tell her because I was a bit frightened by the ... person. I thought Chrona was a girl but she could've easily been a guy too.

"A person with pink hair." I answered, trying to avoid using a pronoun.

"Oh that girl!" Maka exclaimed. "Yeah I've seen her before!"

I tried to smile, debating in my head whether or not I should tell her.

"Well we're not really sure if she's a girl or a guy." I told Maka.

I then explained all the incidents that happened in junior high that led me to believe she could've been either. Chrona was always talking about how she was uncomfortable with girls but her hair was pink and she was emotional like a girl but there were times when she'd be talking to herself as if there was a guy inside of her.

It was all very confusing.

Maka

I couldn't focus in my other classes now, knowing that Soul was in them. Why'd he have to be in all of my classes. Worse off was that in one of them he sat directly behind me. At least he avoided me altogether.

Chemistry was the worst. Soul wasn't my lab partner but he was Black Stars, which was _ten _times worse. Every damn experiment that day they managed to somehow spontaneously combust, getting hot liquid all over Ox Ford and me.

Not that I cared much for Ox anyway. He was extremely competitive and bossy, even more than me which was saying something. He was obviously trying to be better than me in academics. I'd known him actually for 3 years. He'd gone to my junior high and we didn't exactly get along.

"No Maka! 3 oz." Ox corrected me. Even though I knew 2 oz was better for the amount of water so the chances of our concoction blowing up was unlikely, I went along with him, not bothering to try harder than I already was.

Another weird part of chemistry was the fact that we had a psychotic teacher named Stein and I swear he had countless scars over his body that gave me the shivers. He claimed they were all from experiments but I started to wonder...

By the end of the day I was on suicide watch. I didn't want to seem like a stalker to Soul but I had to start the beginning of the story or I'd be procrastinating the entire school year. And _that _I could not do.

"Soul!" The white haired boy turned to me as he was leaving the school to go home.

"What do you want, flat lands?" I ignored his crude remark.

"I need to know more about you to write the first chapter!" I yelled at him. "I don't want to fail this assignment!"

Soul raised an eyebrow, as if challenging me, and I felt a prick of fear for his reply.

"Alright. Soul Eater does not like Maka Albarn and thinks that she has no sex appeal." Soul informed me. "How was that?"

I tried my best to smile.

"Why thank you." I answered. Oh he was going to get it.

After he left, I pulled out my sketchbook and sat on a bench by the entrance of Shibusen, not paying attention to the students who were passing by. From my book bag I pulled out a pencil and began to write a draft of the first page.

_The Story of Soul Eater  
><em>

_Hidden in his own self shame, there was a boy named Soul Eater. He was a hated teen amongst his classmates at school. For some reason, he never understood what people skills meant. Not only could he not be friends with others but he had a terrible taste in woman and only went for the easy ones, this led to much pain in his heart because he could never realize that what was on the outside was the only thing that mattered._

_He couldn't connect with others and was often only thinking of himself. Schoolwork didn't matter to the by and one by one people started to avoid him. He was losing himself slowly in a world of insanity.  
><em>

_Soul Eater definitely, definitely was a horrible boy. _

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note: <strong>Haha. They're so mean to each other aren't they? Well yes. So I tried to do a quick update because I have to go to dance today. Ughh. 4 hours of dance. Most of you don't know me very well but I dance...a lot. Lol. So reasons for a late update are probably dance...or school. Baha I'm starting my ninth grade year September 6th. First year of high school! 0.o Kooowaii Yooo! (I'm scared) Lol. Thanks for reading so far and please review :)_  
><em>


	3. Chapter 3

_One book in one year, written about your partner. Game on. Oh wait, they're writing about you too. [SoMa, TsuStar, KidLiz]  
><em>

_Rated M for Mature content_

_Genre: Romance, Suspense_

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_Fiction_

_Sunshinegirl09  
><em>

Maka

The only thing I hated more than coming home to a drunk father was coming home to a drunk father who was hitting on a woman. Even worse than that, there were three girls cuddled in his arms. I wondered if he ever did that to Mama before she left. Papa never really did touch her like this from what I remembered. All I can recall is fighting.

"Oi, Papa." I greeted. "GET THE HELL OUT OF THE KITCHEN!"

My dad jumped, startling the girls who were with him.

"M-Maka-chan!" He exclaimed.

"Out!"

I couldn't deal with this while I was trying to cook dinner for myself. Seriously, I was going to pop a gasket if they didn't get out in the next thirty seconds. Luckily my father heeded my orders and took the girls to his bedroom. Grand.

My grilled cheese sandwich turned out less than perfect. It didn't really improve my bad mood. This was really starting to build up to a terrible day. _Especially_ since I could hear groans and moaning coming from the bedroom.

Oh and _better _than that, while I'm eating my food, my papa comes out of the bedroom, half naked, while the girls were completely bare, their boobs swinging from side to side as they caressed his dick.

I was ready to puke. It was reminding me of things I didn't want to be reminded of.

The situation deepened my hatred for the fact that we lived in an apartment. I wished we had a second floor so I wouldn't have to be close to him when he was having sex with his many partners. _Shiver_.

By now I had lost my appetite and decided to dump my grilled cheese into the garbage can.

I left the apartment so I didn't have to be around my dad and so I could buy a journal.

Soul

"Just get the hell out of here if you're going to talk to your brother like that!" She shouted, screeching loudly. "I don't want to see you!"

"Wasn't planning on staying!"

This was the second time this week I had left in the middle of the night before dinner. My mom seemed to have little trouble kicking me out. It was all my goddamn brother's fault. He was such a dick face. I still hardly understood how she always found a reason to side with him.

'If you were only more like your brother...' I hated hearing that. Every fucking time. She was constantly telling me that. 'If you were only more dedicated to your music...' This is really the only reason she baby's my brother. If he weren't so damn good at the violin, having prestigious concerts everywhere, she wouldn't the shit slide with him anymore.

The worst part was my father sided with her but really didn't give two fucks about my behavior versus my brother's. He was a little bit of a ditz and only liked to listen to our music. It was easy for him to go with my mom then if she was scolding me on music.

If I could I would slap the crap out of my mom but I can't because one, she's a woman, which would be uncool, and two she's my mom and she brought me into this world so she could easily take that shit away. It'd be disrespectful but considering how pissed I was right now, the demon in the back of my mind told me it was a good idea.

So right now I wasn't exactly sure what I was going to eat. I checked my pockets and realized I just had enough for a bowl of ramen. Which is sad because ramen doesn't cost much and it was all I could afford.

"That'll be 300 hundred yen." I handed the woman the money and told her to keep the change, while I walked away.

I found a lonely park bench, seating myself there under a street lamp. The bowl of hot ramen warmed my lap from the fall hair. I had to eat pretty quickly though. Styrofoam bowls didn't exactly hold liquids as greatly as they lead to.

Breaking the chopsticks apart, I looked down at the bowl.

"Itadakimasu!"

Maka

Homeroom that morning was rather gloomy. I think the whole story thing was dawning on everyone and they realized how hard this was going to be. We had to write a full length story about someone in a year. Less than a year. Nine months. It was ridiculous, especially if you had an ass face of a partner named Soul Eater.

Soul was staring out the window, trying to keep a calm, cool look but he looked more pissed than anything.

Tch. I bet his night was normal compared to mine. My stupid father making it impossible for me to sleep or eat anything. Soul probably had a relaxing meal with his 'cool' family then went to bed.

I couldn't do either of those things.

When he caught me staring at him, he gave me this look that seemed like he was thinking the same things about me. I was tempting to tell him how impossibly long and terrible my night was but I wasn't one who liked to complain to other people.

I was a strong, determined girl and I couldn't let things like these slow me down.

So you can just imagine when I went over to talk to him, I used a _slightly _firm voice.

"_Soul Eater_..." I addressed him.

He hardly looked up.

"I would most enjoy if you would help me write this." I held up my journal, holding a ballpoint pen.

Soul gave me the slightest twitch of his eyebrow, pissing me off further.

"What the fuck do you want me to do?" He questioned.

My fake smile quivered. I'd already finished the first page of the rough draft about the poor kid named Soul who couldn't get along with people. _Surely _he didn't want me to write about that...

"Tell me about yourself." I said through gritted teeth.

Soul sighed getting up from his seat.

"Give me this damn thing."

He snatched the book from my hands and I reached up and grabbed it but couldn't keep a grip. He held it away, being a few inches taller than me, discontinuing my reach.

"Do you honestly think you will even _use _all of these pages." He said, flipping through them, flashing a pointy smirk.

I gulped, being around him and his pointy smile, made my awkwardly uncomfortable.

"You asshole! Give that back!" I yelled, earning myself a shush from Sid-sensei. We were supposed to be studying for any other classes in Homeroom today. But it's not like Sid paid much attention to us anyway.

Soul raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah? What're you gonna do about it?"

Well he just asked so he was going to get it.

I picked up a heavy textbook from the desk next to me and slammed it onto Soul's head.

"Ow!" He cried, dropping the book. "What was that for? God...what guy in the right mind would wanna go out with you?"

"That's not the point of the conversation!" I retorted, slightly hurt, setting the book down.

Soul sat back in his seat, and returned my journal to me. I was really deciding to put that first draft in here.

"I need something else to write with," I told him, taking a seat opposite from him. "What do you-"

"I play piano." He sharply stated.

Piano?

Tsubaki

My sympathetic feelings reached out towards Maka while I watched her argue with Soul.

"I play piano." He suddenly said with a bitter tone.

Maka immediately froze.

"Hey!" Black Star's voice broke me out of the trance I was in.

"O-Oh Black Star." I said, turning to my partner.

"So listen," He continued to rant. "I'm like the biggest person in this world. I'm going to be the greatest martial artist one day and surpass god."

Here he goes again...Black Star was always doing this, so much I wondered if we were ever going to get to writing the books. At least it would be easy for me. He was constantly talking about himself, I didn't know if he would be able to write about me.

"Ne...Black Star..." I said.

"Hmm? What?" He questioned. "Are you amazed by me?"

I paused. That wasn't quite what I was going for.

"Well...I'm going to begin to write your story so," I started. "Could you tell me a little bit about your family?"

Black Star's expression darkened and his face became hard. It looked like this was something he _really _didn't want to talk about. I was too shy though to press.

"They're..." He said lowly. "NOT AS IMPORTANT AS ME!" Now he was fired up again.

Gosh this kid had mood swings.

"DAMMIT! GOD WILL BE SO AMAZED HE'LL JUST HAVE TO HAND DOWN HIS TITLE TO ME!"

It was beginning to get embarrassing, hanging out with Black Star, because everywhere we went he would have outbursts like this. I mean, even though we were only in homeroom, Soul and Maka were starting to look at us too, probably amazed someone could be louder than their bickering.

To me though, it looked like the two had developed some chemistry. Even though right now it was disastrous chemistry that could make a bomb, at least they had a little click. Black Star and I were totally different and with my personality, it was hard to keep up with him and have the nerve to keep him on track, but I had to try.

"Black Star!" I finally said more loudly. "We need to work on our stories, otherwise we'll be behind and get a bad grade." Black Star stopped and looked at me. "And if you get a bad grade," I added. "You won't be able to surpass god."

This seemed to fire him up and in fact, he completely ignored telling me about himself and instead interrogated me. And then he asked about my brother and I froze up.

Soul

"Y-You play an instrument?" She inquired, looking distraught.

"Yes..." I remarked. I said it once, did she need a hearing aid?

"No...no..." She sat down and folded her arms. "Great."

I wasn't necessarily interested in why she was so bothered so I didn't ask. But she was being quiet for a whole five minutes. This was a record. And still, she wasn't talking. More minutes passed and began to feel awkward.

"Oi, flat lands," I said. "What's so wrong about music?"

Saying it now, I immediately thought of my brother and punched the underside of the desk. Maka didn't seem to notice though.

"I don't understand music." She told me. "At all. How can I write about you when playing piano is a part of your life? You're musical based aren't you? I can sense it. It's like I can feel your soul and it screams music."

Hearing this pissed me off. She was acting like my mom. I wasn't all about music so why did everyone seem to think so?

"Well that's bullshit." I answered. "I-I don't play piano anymore. So stop acting so uncool." I wrinkled my nose, hoping that my own statement made me feel better. It wasn't a total lie. I avoided playing piano as much as possible now, but my mom still made me.

"Okay..." She replied, but for some reason I felt she was really good at reading people's faces. I felt like she was looking at my soul and really seeing I was all about music and I hated it.

My fucking brother would always be better than me so why did I have to bother? Everyone expected me to be like him but I couldn't and really didn't want it to be that way. When I played piano, I wanted to play it because I wanted to, not to meet people's expectations.

Dammit.

"Soul!" Maka brought me back to reality. Great. Skinny, not hot girl, trying to take control. Gotta love it.

"What?" I growled.

She stood up again.

"If you don't tell me about yourself, I'm going to write down my draft for your first chapter!" She shouted.

Oh hell. I didn't even know what her first draft was. Like I gave a shit anyway. Probably some bull about me being a total douche bag. I hated people who always make first impressions, sucky ones at that.

"Write what you want." I informed her. If Marie-sensei knows who I am then she'll see Maka did a bad writing job and give her a bad grade. I'd like to see her face when she sees she got less than an A on her assignment.

Besides, I was getting ready to write _my _first page for Maka. Tch.

Pulling out a crappy and old, blank book I found from downstairs, I turned the leather cover page and wrote _Maka Albarn_ on the top of the first page and then started to write the beginning, pushing Maka away who was trying to look over my shoulder.

_Maka Albarn_

_Maka was always a girl who tried too hard. She didn't seemed to care about others, only herself. She was always making assumptions and first impressions about other people that caused her to be hated. _

_Along with that, she was very unattractive to other guys. For some reason, her chest didn't really go far and her stupid hair was always in pigtails. She had big green eyes that shouldn't be mistaken for being pretty because they were often angrily looking at you._

_Everyone found it to be a drag to be around her. In fact she had only one friend sit by her at lunch and that was out of pity. The teachers at school were annoyed by her constant questioning and bickering with other students about school work._

_She was clearly unwanted._

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note: <strong>Oh! Soul is so cruel isn't he? Lol. I love mean guys, especially when they're hot. Like Draco Malfoy *drooool* HAWT! Yesh. So anyway, third chapter is up :) Hope you guys like so far. I'm trying to keep the character's a little OOC and a little not because I like to customize my stories so it gives me more creative freedom :D Hahaha. Sooo review...question mark? Please XD Thanks for reading!_  
><em>


	4. Chapter 4

_One book in one year, written about your partner. Game on. Oh wait, they're writing about you too. [SoMa, TsuStar, KidLiz]  
><em>

_Rated M for Mature content_

_Genre: Romance, Suspense_

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><em>

_Fiction_

_Sunshinegirl09  
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Maka

I had more things to worry about that didn't include Soul Eater and the stupid literature assignment but I couldn't seem to get it out of my head. The assignment or Soul. What was it about them? I didn't like any of the two in my brain yet I couldn't stop thinking about them.

Maybe it was the way Soul always pissed me off. Maybe it was the fact that he was so calm and chill about everything despite whatever situation we may be in. I hated how he could keep his cool all the time. Well...not all the time.

"I hate you."

"Well, I hate you too."

We both spoke through gritted teeth and even though as I spoke, I knew the words coming out of my mouth were ridiculous, I still said them with every ounce of hatred I could put into them.

Soul and I shouldn't really hate each other. We had no reason to, yet every time we looked at each other, it sent our blood boiling. It was a feeling that I couldn't explain. Something about _him _just made my emotions run wild.

Why couldn't we get along?

"Aren't you going to tell me?" I asked him.

"No." Was his sharp response.

"Soul," I pushed his foot that was resting on his desk off. "I need something to write about besides you being a total dick. Tell me about your piano playing."

"I said I didn't fucking want to." Soul argued, earning him a glare from Sid-sensei with his cussing.

He snapped at me like sharing anything personal would kill him. Well...it's not like I was gonna open up to _him _anyway.

"Why'd I get stuck with such an un-hot partner anyway?" Soul wondered out loud, too loud for me.

So I hit him with a book.

"Fuck that hurt..." He moaned, getting up and strutting away from me.

I caught Tsubaki stealing sympathetic glances from the other side of the room while she desperately tried to get Black Star focused...I returned the stares.

That was how a normal conversation between Soul and I went. We'd been doing this assignment for only a week and already we couldn't stay in the same room with each other for more than five minutes. How would we survive a year?

Kid

How could she not care? Why was she being so careless? I couldn't believe my partner didn't want to get to know me or at least let me write about her! This was disgusting...such lack of dedication!

"Liz! I demand that you allow me access of your personal life!" I requested, loudly.

"Why the hell should I let _you_!" She yelled with a greater volume.

I raised an eyebrow. Was she challenging me?

"You dare not care for an assignment?" I asked her, angrily.

Liz placed her hands on her hips, returning the eyebrow raise.

"Well if you're such a perfectionist, why do you have three stripes on one side of your head and not the other, that ain't look symmetrical to me!" She cried.

Hearing those words come from her mouth, I realized she was right and dropped to the ground in distaste towards myself. How could I demand so much of her when I was already such a terrible human...being so unsymmetrical.

"Um, Kid?" She questioned, staring at me while I lay on the ground.

I ignored her though. I wasn't worthy to speak to anyone else who was at least more symmetrical than I. How could I be so disgusting? Trash...trash!

"Hey...get up! You're making a scene! All of our homeroom class is staring at us!" Liz worriedly looked around, seeing the other people watch her but I was too distracted by my gross self to care.

Tsubaki

At least my partner didn't have OCD. Still...I was starting to think he had ADHD. I was afraid to ask him, thinking it was rude, but then again he would probably take such a comment as a compliment anyway.

This was going nowhere. Black Star and I weren't getting anywhere anytime soon.

"So then I punched the guy in the jaw and the teacher's thought that _I _was the one who should get punished." Black Star ranted.

So far, the only thing I knew about him was that he liked to fight and wanted to surpass God. No life story. Nothing was ever said about his family or childhood. I started to wonder if he was really human? He never talked about any relationships...any friends. From what Maka told me at lunch the other day, it seemed he and Soul were pretty close but that was about it.

"We need to focus!" I scolded him, but Black Star was too engrossed in his own story to realize me talking.

I felt like someone suffering under the heat of a burning light. Black Star was the burning light and I was the innocent soul trapped underneath.

God...this was quite unfortunate.

Soul

Okay. With that goddamn girl following me around _everywhere_, how the hell was I supposed to pick up hot chicks? Miku asked me yesterday if I was going out with Maka. She told me I wasn't allowed to hit on her when I already had a girlfriend. One can only imagine who insanely pissed I was.

Worse than that, I had nothing to write about in the stupid story of Maka and Marie pulled me aside the other day and told me she was 'unimpressed with my efforts' and that I should 'try to work more with Maka'.

I try to keep a chill personality and look cool but these things piss me off and I can't help but flip over a desk. I knew that I shouldn't care about this stupid thing...possibly overreacting like a fuckin' emotional girl, but there's something about Maka that bothered me and I couldn't get it out of my head. It was like an itch you couldn't scratch, or when you try to remember a song name but can't.

Then when she asked me about the piano...I was seriously ready to just slam the bitch. But she was a girl so I refrained myself from doing such an uncool act. Maybe I could slam around her just to scare her.

When such emotions ran through me like wildfire, I knew it was time to just stuff my headphones in my ears and block out the world. I didn't care if the lunch ladies at the cafeteria hated it. They were gonna have to deal with the faint sound of my music.

Besides, why should they care? It wasn't any obnoxious shit that most kids these listen too. It was smooth jazz. Coming from a family of classical instruments, of course I learned to love the sadistic music. That's what I thought of it. Insanity. Whenever I listened to the sounds of a piano, I felt like I was drowning in madness. It was like I couldn't escape sinking in the thick molasses of the notes.

I stole glances around the lunchroom, sitting by myself. Black Star was stalking Tsubaki. He as lucky he got such a hot partner but I didn't think she was the type to be easy. Kid was partnered with the thug, Liz. Did he even know what went on with her as a child? Maka was happily talking to Tsubaki as if she had no worries and for a second, I was jealous.

She had such a perfect life it seemed. My feeling went away but I still was mad. How was it that she could be stick with, in her opinion, a dick like me and still be smiling like that when only an hour ago she was madder than hell at god knows what I did.

Maka

I caught that douche bag Soul watching me and glared back at him. There seemed to be electricity still in the air when we returned our stares back to our food. Psh. He must've thought he was so cool listening to his music while he ate. Well, it was just plain stupid.

Honestly I didn't see the point.

"Liz...come sit with us." Tsubaki invited her over here.

Liz left a crying Kid and sat across from us at a circular table.

"This is Maka..." Tsubaki pointed to me and I waved at her.

Liz waved back.

"I can't believe him!" She immediately ranted. "He acts like such a crybaby!"

For the rest of lunch, we exchanged stories about our psychotic partners and how we were gonna sign a petition to switch and post it all over the literature room for Marie-sensei to see, in hopes she would change her mind.

But I doubted she would and didn't say this aloud.

The rest of the day went by a little fast. Thank God in Biology we weren't doing labs because I enjoyed when poisonous gases from Black Star and Soul were _not _splashing me from behind.

To put it bluntly, math sucked. I don't understand half the crap we learn in Pre-Calc and to be honest, the only reason I was in the high class for math was because I studied hard for every test, barely managing to get all A's, but being one of the only ones to ever do it. I regret doing so well when math was easy.

I found myself thankful when the end of the day rolled by. It wasn't the best thing, walking home from school, but there was never a bus route that came to my house exactly at the end of the day. So I walked five miles every day from school normally. In the morning though my dad used to drop me off at school. Not anymore.

He didn't get off from work until seven usually. But of course there were the occasions where he got too drunk to be at work and I came home to find him with numerous women in his arms. Let's hope that wasn't how it'd be today.

Actually, it was the opposite. He must've been so drunk that he couldn't come home. Either that or he was too busy making out with a girl at the bar to come back home to me and eat dinner. The problem with his is sometimes he brought groceries and we were out. _And _he wasn't home yet.

So I decided to leave the house to go get something to eat, with the little money I had.

I walked the streets of Death City, trying to find something edible downtown. I took a bus to get there and sat by this creeper who had a newspaper from three years ago. Then there was an emo chick sitting across from me, depressingly looking outside.

Oh yeah, and the awkward couple making out.

I thanked god when I got off the bus and started to roam around, scoping for food.

It took me forever to find what I really wanted. There were tons of people trying to sell me extremely gross food off the streets. I have a great appetite, so when I say gross I mean it. They were selling pig eyes and flies...goat testicles...you name it. "Really...I'm not interested!" are words the sellers seem to _really _not understand one bit! It's quite sad.

So finally, I found a taiyaki place. Took long enough. Taiyaki has always been one of my favorite foods. I especially loved the fish shape as a child. I remembered the first time I tried it. It was a particularly good memory of my dad me. He had bought it for me because I was scootering along side of him and fell and started to cry. He was really a clueless guy. So he bought me food, trying to make me feel better.

It worked.

As I took my first bite into the sweet bean paste, something silver caught my eye.

I looked over in the distance and saw a teenage guy with his head in his hands, sitting on a lone park bench. At first I couldn't recognize him, but seeing that his hair was silvery white, I suddenly realized who it was.

Soul Eater.

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><p><strong>Author's Note: <strong>Oh! I'm so mean! Lol. Giving you such a short chapter. But it's eleven and I have to get up early so I had to stop here. I HAD A GOOD REASON! High school orientation on Friday. Yeah...I'm a ninth grader. BAHA! Fourteen and writing a rated M story! Bad kids! Don't follow in my footsteps XD Jk...Kinda. So yes, worst orientation EVER! Who plays Simon says for three hours at an orientation? Us...and other team building games too. Yeah but then I had to go to our city festival Saturday with my friends. And today, Sunday, I danced in it for our high school dance team. Then went to a pool party. And out to eat. SO I'M BUSY! But I updated :) So please with a cherry on top, review =D


	5. Chapter 5

_One book in one year, written about your partner. Game on. Oh wait, they're writing about you too. [SoMa, TsuStar, KidLiz]  
><em>

_Rated M for Mature content_

_Genre: Romance, Suspense_

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x ｆ ｉ ｃ ｔ ｉ ｏ ｎ x

Ｓ ｕ ｎ ｓ ｈ ｉ ｎ ｅ Ｇ ｉ ｒ ｌ ０ ９

Soul

"Soul...is that you?"

Someone's voice brought me out of my trance. Shit. Green eyes bored down on me and I knew that they were hers. Maka didn't look pissed though, while she stared. She looked confused, her eyebrows furrowed.

And she wanted an explanation.

"What are _you _doing here?" I inquired, narrowing my eyes.

She pretended not to be hurt but I think she'd seen me while I was depressed for quite some time because her defensive walls that normally bounce away my comebacks were down and I tried not to feel guilty but...mine were up.

"I..." Maka paused and held up some Taiyaki. It looked pretty appetizing. "was eating out." She finished.

By herself...?

"What are _you _doing?" She questioned.

"None of your business!" I immediately retorted, causing her to place her thin hands on her hips and glare at me.

She wasn't too happy with my answer and I didn't blame her but why should she care?

"You looked pretty sad when I saw you from over there." She motioned towards the Taiyaki stand.

Great she _had_ seen me for quite some time. I really wished she wasn't so nosy but this really wasn't fucking working. I itched to get off the bench and run away. Just bolt to an escape route so I didn't have to look at those eyes. Those green eyes.

"I'm tired." I explained, knowing she wasn't going to take it.

"I know damn well that isn't all of what's going on with you." She informed me, taking a seat far away from me on the park bench. I could tell she was afraid of me at the same time of trying to act like she wasn't.

While she stared at me, she hid her fear from most people but I could tell that I made her uncomfortable.

"Why do you care anyway?" I asked, feeling hungry, trying not to stare at her food. She made no effort to hide that she was eating it either.

"I..." She couldn't really answer that because she didn't know either.

There was a really awkward silence and tension between the two of us. Neither of us tried breaking it either. I wanted to send her away or something but I didn't feel as alone, even if it wasn't a hot chick with me.

"Are you going to tell me why you're out here all alone?" She demanded, getting impatient.

Like I was about to tell her...

"What about you? You're alone too!" I spat back and we stared at each other with darting eyes.

"That's none of your business." She copied me.

I said the same thing back to her and realized that we were getting nowhere and now I just wanted to be alone again. But then again...I was starting to wonder now about her.

Why _was _she buying dinner all alone?

Maka

Soul's frightening, red eyes stared back at me and I realized he didn't want to talk as much as I didn't.

"Listen..." I compromised. "If I tell you why I'm here, will you tell me why you are?"

Soul looked down for a moment and for a split second...a _split _second, I saw his face change expressions to weak. It was a vulnerable look that only lasted a few seconds. Two at the max. My personality reader in my head went crazy and I was suddenly very confused.

"Sure." He remarked.

Finally. Something I could write about. Well...I suppose I had to do my end of the deal first.

"When I got home today," I realized Soul's eyes were on me, making me uncomfortable. "My...dad wasn't there. And...he never came home today so I went to downtown to find something to eat."

Soul seemed slightly surprised. He must've assumed that I had a super easy life. Guess he was a little wrong.

"What about you?" I questioned, breaking the silence again.

"I..." He was _very _hesitant to tell me this. "got into a fight with my mom."

Another silence between us.

"I would say I could relate." I told him. "But my mom is gone."

"Sorry." Soul wasn't even looking at me.

"She's not dead." I correct, holding my knees up to my chest on the bench and setting the rest of my Taiyaki down. "She left."

I couldn't tell if Soul was interested or zoning out. It's not like I was going to continue anyway. I didn't even know why I told him any of that. It's not like I was in an open mood ready to share with him.

"I can't relate to you." Soul responded, not looking at me. "My father never fights. He just sides with my mom."

I frowned, wishing my mom was with me instead of my dad. He was such a jerk sometimes.

"Either way..." Soul continued. "Since when did this turn into a damn confession of our parents?"

He got up, hands in his pocket and began to walk in the opposite direction of me. Don't ask me why, but I felt my heart sink. Not because I was sad that he was leaving but because, in some way, he was a loner too, like me.

"Here!" I called.

Soul turned around, just in time, to catch the fish tail of my Taiyaki.

"I don't want this." He informed me, holding it up.

"Don't lie." I smirked, turning around and walking away. He wanted it. He'll thank me later.

Soul left, not eating the Taiyaki but clutching it in his hand. I bet that he ate it once he was out of sight.

Thankfully the bus home wasn't full of creepers and when I got home my father was found fast asleep on the couch in our apartment.

I shuffled into my room, closing the door behind me. Then, I did the first thing that came to my mind. I pulled out my journal from my book bag and started the next chapter of the book.

_But there was something no one ever saw. Soul always tried to hide his true self in front of people. He didn't want to show others that he was just as lonely as some other people were, leading everyone to come to the wrong conclusions._

_To keep what he really was hidden, he acted like a total dick. He was so stubborn that he refused to believe that he could accept help from other people. This led to him being more antisocial and missing out on what really matter in life._

Soul

She didn't talk to me all day and I was beginning to wonder if she was more afraid. But when I caught her staring at me, I realized she wasn't scared of me. If anything, she was less scared. The worst of it all was that she was looking at me _sympathetically._ I didn't _want _her pity.

There was no way ever, in fucking hell, that I was going to tell her I ate her Taiyaki leftovers last night, but I was so hungry and didn't have any money left to pay for food. Part of me was thankful that she was there but I knew that either way I'd have survived.

Now she was furiously writing in her book, probably about me. Whatever it was, it looked like a long chapter.

I looked at my few pages I had written and decided to write some more. Maybe I could finish this assignment early and have it easy the rest of the year.

_Even though other people seemed to want Maka out of her life, she seemed to be used to it somehow. This was the reason she seemed immune to the constant bullying she received for being far too annoying in class._

_She was always hiding herself from other people and her ugliness wasn't the reason others stayed away from her. The reason she was violent wasn't because she was ugly either. It was something she hid from others._

_And whatever she was hiding, must've been the reason she tried too hard.  
><em>

Maka seemed to notice I was writing too. She kept glancing over here.

Let's hope that she never would read my story otherwise a thousand text books would slam on top of my head, painfully I may add.

In chemistry, I found her staring blankly at her vile. God. She was such a fucking confusing person sometimes.

_"_Hey Soul!" Black Star cried._ "_Were we supposed to put this in here?"

He held up a container of an extremely flammable liquid.

"N-No..."

_POW!_

Maka and Ox turned around and I was ready for one of her book chops to the head but didn't get it. She just glared at me.

"It was him." I blankly said.

Black Star held up his hands.

"M-Maka! Don't kill me!" Black Star jumped up.

Tsubaki

I watched as Maka got up, ready to kill my partner.

A feeling inside of me, crept up. This was going to be a pretty..._interesting _year. Normally I never talked to boys but I was forced to be with Black Star for this assignment. Actually this is the most time I'd _ever_ spent with a boy.

Boys had asked me before. But I knew it was because of my body. Black Star didn't seem to care and I felt comfortable talking to them because in his self absorbancy he only wanted someone who would listen to him rant.

He didn't care what was on the outside...though I'm sure he probably found me attractive because I'd spotted him with a Playboy magazine with Soul. Typical guys. You couldn't change _that_.

Maka on the other hand...was stuck with Soul. She seemed to think he was mostly terrible but I didn't think that way. She assumed he always thought of people from what they looked like on the outside. But I knew that wasn't _really _him.

From what I heard from her, ninth grade was the worst year of her life. And that was the same for Soul. I think they had more in common than they realized. The two just had to try harder to get to know each other more, even if they didn't want to.

This assignment was going to do more than make us a better writer.

Soul

I laid in bed that night at eleven. My phone rested on the nightstand, glowing. A text message.

Rolling over, I looked at it. It was from Black Star.

_Black Star: What's the deal with Tsubaki_

_Me: What do you mean?_

_Black Star: She's so quiet. I don't know anything about her!_

I stared at the phone, laughing. He was such a dumbass.

_Me: That's because you never let her speak._

_Black Star: She should butt in and yell at me if she has something to say._

_Me: Dude...she tries you just won't let her._

Black Star took five minutes to respond to that.

_Black Star: Oh...well it's not like I'm any better than you towards Maka._

I shifted uncomfortably in my bed, trying to decipher his words.

_Me: What's that supposed to mean?_

_Black Star: You treat her like crap _and_ won't tell her anything. I kinda feel bad for the chick._

I stared at that text message the whole night, never falling into a slumber. I never would've thought I would lose sleep over Maka Albarn.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note: <strong>'tkillme! Yeah. I thought I'd update this morning...'cause...I have a free day. And I read your reviews. And liked them. So I wrote...more XD Yeah so there's so much to Soul and Maka that they don't know about and it's...a bit confusing lol. Mmhmm. Hope you like this chapter very much and revieeew 'cause I love reviews *heart*


	6. Chapter 6

_One book in one year, written about your partner. Game on. Oh wait, they're writing about you too. [SoMa, TsuStar, KidLiz]  
><em>

_Rated M for Mature content_

_Genre: Romance, Suspense_

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x ｆ ｉ ｃ ｔ ｉ ｏ ｎ x

Ｓ ｕ ｎ ｓ ｈ ｉ ｎ ｅ Ｇ ｉ ｒ ｌ ０ ９

Maka

I didn't know how to act around him now. I saw Soul and even though I had only told him a sliver of life, I felt like I was wide open, ready to be stabbed. He didn't even know a lot about me and I felt like I was vulnerable already.

Stupid me.

But then again...on the other side of the table, I knew about Soul. If he tried to expose me to anyone else I'd just expose him. Who was I kidding? I was over thinking this way too much. We were both in the same situation, being in a bad family matter, none of us would betray each other...would we?

"MAKA!"

_KABOOM!_

Oops. Perhaps those two chemicals don't go together well.

"Are you even paying attention?" Ox demanded, annoyed by the fact we didn't win the prize of best solution at the end of class. "Why would you put those two together? What's going on in your head you-"

"Relax...it was an accident." Soul's smooth voice hovered above us.

I turned around...feeling shaken. Was he standing up for me? But the moment Ox tried to respond, Soul did an eye roll and returned to his seat by Black Star, who had already struck a conversation up with Tsubaki.

I wanted to thank him but there was still a part of me that didn't trust one bit of him. That was terrified of him. I couldn't really understand what I felt for Soul. Hatred mixed with sympathy, mixed with confusion. Not necessarily a _good _combo.

Were Soul and I a mix or a solution? I didn't know.

Liz

"You're sitting over here and that's final!" I dragged him over to the table where Maka and Tsubaki sat.

Kid had tried to get me to sit with him but I wasn't going to do it. I was going to sit by my friends...well Tsubaki was my friend but I didn't know if Maka liked me or not. Either way, I wasn't going to sit alone with him

So it was either he sits over here...or by himself.

"Who's that guy?" Maka pointed at him but I had a feeling she knew who he was already.

"My partner, Kid."

Kid didn't look entirely _pleased _to be sitting over here with all of these girls.

I introduced them all to him and he nodded simply.

"If sitting over here is necessary to this project..." Kid announced. "Then I shall sit here as long as I need to."

Great. Just what I needed. I was hoping that one sitting over here would make him lose his mind and force him to go and sit by himself again but I had a feeling now that this suddenly wasn't going to work.

"So anyways Liz," Kid continued our conversation that we were having before all of this. "I'm coming over to your house to-"

"You are _not _coming to my house!" I argued...this was embarrassing in front of Tsubaki and Maka.

"I must! So we can work on the project privately." He protested.

It's a good thing I knew who he really was or I would've taken that the _wrong _way. Most guys our age would say that just to secretly get us to have sex. Worst thing is my parents are never home...ever.

"Then we can go to your house!" I said, glad Maka and Tsubaki had started a side conversation, seeing my awkwardness.

Kid and I glared at each other for quite some time. He clearly was just as mad about his house as I was about my house. However, if he stepped foot in the tiny apartment my sis and I shared he'd have a heart attack.

Soul

I couldn't help but look at Maka differently after I had seen her that night. It was so hard to be nice to her because I couldn't deal with her personality. I hated it but also...some parts of her seemed to be like me in such ways it scared me.

Before, I never would've even considered thinking of her as a friend. But now I watched her from a distance, wondering if she was hiding other things than her problems with her father.

As I watched her dump her lunch tray, she grabbed her stomach and I raised an eyebrow while she shook her head and continued to walk away. Something in her eyes stayed in my brain and I remember Black Star's text.

Except even after chemistry, when I tried being nice, I still couldn't try to be friends with her. I hated her. So why was I feeling this way? Why was I feeling like I had to prove something to her? Prove that I wasn't the scumbag she really thought I was? Normally I'm not one to care about what other people think but every insult she throws at me I have a strong urge to counter.

"So about your piano playing..." Maka pried the next day in literature.

I sighed. It's not like I'd tell her much anyway.

"My mom signed me up for lessons when I was four." I explained. "I loved it at first..."

"And then," She pried, leaning in.

I flicked her on the forehead, pushing her back.

"None of your business." I remarked, wishing she wasn't so fucking nosy as always.

"Come on, Soul." She begged angrily.

"Let's just say," I folded my arms. "I had too much competition and I hated it."

She obviously didn't understand. I didn't expect her to. She wasn't in the same situation when it came to siblings. As far as I knew, she didn't have a brother or sister.

I wouldn't lie when I said that sometimes I hated my brother.

"Your turn now dumbass." I informed her, receiving a book to the face.

She obviously didn't like me calling her names. Too fucking bad.

"What do you want to know?" She asked, not alright with the idea of giving away any more information about herself.

I thought about lunch.

"Are you anorexic?"

The sound of her hand striking my face resonated louder than I liked. Everyone in the room stopped talking and they just looked at us in time to see Maka drop her books and sprint out of the class.

Maka

I ran so fast, it felt like my legs were made of rubber by the time I got to the end of the hallway. I ignored Marie-sensei calling after me as I slammed the door shut and sprinted.

He reminded me of it. Ninth grade. I had to get out of there.

I didn't know where I was going. Technically this was cutting class wasn't it? Of course I really didn't care at the time. I was so scared...so terrified of thinking about what happened last year...how dare Soul.

Swallowing, I found my own little sorrowful corner to cry silently in. Being the weak person I was, any mention of something related to what happened seemed to send a rush of emotions through my body, causing me to shudder and cry like a weak child.

Part of me wanted someone, anyone, even Soul, to come run after me and find me but there was also a part of me so disgusted with my outer appearance, that wanted to be left alone.

I shifted uncomfortably in my short skirt, looking at my knobby knees. Those days were behind me now. I thought that to myself, trying to remember my eating the past months being normal but still something haunted me and it killed to think about it.

Inside of me there was a war...a raging war and sometimes I just wished a side would win already so there'd be less contradiction in my thoughts. There was the devil inside of me and the angel. And there were moments where I couldn't tell the difference between the two. Those moments were scary. But not as frightening as the times where I thought the devil was better than the angel.

I couldn't let anyone see the war though. I prayed inside if I out scored everyone on tests, if I was the best, I could go to college and start a new and fresh life, leaving my past behind me.

But the devil wouldn't let me.

Of course now I was thinking _oh great _because I had to go back into class after that outburst. So instead I decided to return in the next class and just stay out here for now. I stayed in my corner until passing time.

"Oh hey look who it is?" Hana Yumi greeted me by my locker.

God. I can't her _enough_.

"It's the little bitch who ran out of the classroom in _tears_!"

Her shrill laugh was loud and I was thankful for the many students talking in the halls to cover up her pitchy voice.

Hana was one of my childhood bullies. Of course as an extremely independent 9 year old girl, I didn't let her bitchiness get to me and I remember one time on her bullying occasions, flipping her off. She always thought that she got through to me with her insults while her little gang of girlfriends stood by her but she was very much wrong and today I wasn't going to take shit from her.

"Please move..." I told her, trying to push past.

"I'm not done embarrassing you yet." She informed me.

I gave her the best fake smile I could manage and brought my books up to my chest.

"Hana...don't try to push me around, especially without your freak bodyguards. We all know you're not shit without your crew."

Then I pushed past her, using my books as a barrier so I didn't actually have to touch her nastiness while I moved her.

That felt good, but I was still severely depressed on the inside.

Tsubaki

It ached, watching Maka dart out of the classroom. She looked so sad but I knew that I had my own problems to worry about. My makeup on my face was starting to wear and Black Star was asking questions.

"Tsubaki what _is _that?" He wondered.

"N-Nani? Nothing..." I tried to change the topic but he kept asking.

Not much longer after Maka left class, I asked if I could use the bathroom and also departed from class.

Also in the bathroom was Hana Yumi and her incredibly unintelligent friends, gossiping about Maka. I hadn't known Hana for a very long time but in the past month I've gathered that she's not a pleasant girl and she doesn't like Maka very much.

I pulled my makeup out from my purse and started to cover up the purple bruise that was on my face. It stung as I tapped the pad covered with foundation all over it. I had to thickly layer liquid foundation and powder...creating a wall over the bruise. It hurt like hell but I couldn't let anyone see what happened.

I could still feel my brother's knuckles touch the side of my face, impacting with such a force that I was knocked into a table last night. I didn't know how such a kind, loving person, could turn into a monster.

"She thinks her skinny little ass can put on such a fake show..." Hana hissed to Mira.

My eyebrow twitched. I didn't really know Maka that well. I assumed Hana had known her much longer, but Maka was a strong and determined girl who would never try to get attention by putting on a "show".

"That's a lie." I spoke up, turning to the side.

"No one asked you." Hana responded.

I felt my frustration rise.

"And Maka didn't ask you to talk behind her back like this." I countered, raising my voice louder than my normal soft spoken tone.

All she did was scowl at me and motion for her three friends to follow her out of the bathroom and back to class. I just _loved _how they asked to go to the bathroom just to skip class. And _especially _loved how all of the teachers knew this and _still _let them go.

I walked out of the bathroom and shrieked. Black Star was waiting for me at the entrance.

"You followed me you perv?" I demanded, shoving him.

Sorry to Black Star, but that was just creepy how he followed me.

"I was curious- oh! The mark on your face! It's gone!" He exclaimed, jumping up to see.

"It was just some juice from lunch and I washed it off just now." I lied.

And he believed it. I think.

Soul

"Dude..." Black Star nudged me in chemistry and pointed at Maka. "You should really do something."

"It's not my fault that she freaked." I told him.

Black Star rolled his eyes.

"Of course it is! A god like me can tell these things so easily! NOW BE A MAN AND APOLOGIZE!"

Yep. Maka heard that. She flinched.

Great. Thank you Black Star for making everything awkward.

Of course I felt bad. Just a little bit. But I didn't want to admit it. I understood how serious girls were about their eating disorders but I also knew there were tons that tried to gain sympathy from it. If Maka really was anorexic, there was part of me that was happy that she wasn't one of those girls.

I didn't like girls who begged for attention, which was why I completely ignored Hana's bullshit that was spreading like wildfire throughout the school. Literally in two class periods, everyone knew about Maka's freak out. Maka didn't even look at the people who clearly whispered about her.

In that way I respected her.

Then I remember that she slapped me and my feelings turned bitter.

God. If only I had known earlier that writing about this particular girl would ever be so complicated, I never even would've started the story.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note: <strong>Oh my god am I evil or what? Hehe. I love writing intense moments. I WENT THE THE FAIR TODAY! If any of ya'll live in Minnesota you must go to the state fair because it's amazingly stalked with food. So greatly that I'm going tomorrow with my buddies. Yeah. Anyway...I got much of my inspiration for this chapter by listening to Demi Lovato who is so amazing and inspiring it's like daaaamn. I never knew about her complicated and painful life. I only liked one song by her, Don't Forget, and then I heard Skyscrapers and looked her up and realized that people are not always what they seem. Then it reminded me of my story and I had to just write it out:) SO REVIEW CUZ I LOVE YOU! :D


	7. Chapter 7

_One book in one year, written about your partner. Game on. Oh wait, they're writing about you too. [SoMa, TsuStar, KidLiz]  
><em>

_Rated M for Mature content_

_Genre: Romance, Suspense_

.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o._  
><em>

x ｆ ｉ ｃ ｔ ｉ ｏ ｎ x

Ｓ ｕ ｎ ｓ ｈ ｉ ｎ ｅ Ｇ ｉ ｒ ｌ ０ ９

Soul

Apologize. I had to apologize or I wouldn't be able to sleep that night. To be honest, I really didn't _want _to apologize but I thought about all the stupid rumors and bullying that had happened because I asked her that simple question.

But she was the one who overreacted anyway. She didn't have to slap me and run out of the room like hell was on her heals. All she had to do was tell me 'that was a very rude question' except when I started thinking that, I probably would've said a really smart ass comment if she had told me that.

"Who the hell is calling me?" Black Star's obnoxious voice bellowed from the other end.

"It's Soul," I remarked, annoyed. "Don't you have caller ID?" I demanded, looking out the window at the sunset.

"I don't look." He replied, bluntly.

I rolled my eyes and shook my head.

"So what's up, bro?" Black Star wondered.

I wasn't sure how I'd ask him this. Yes, Black Star had been my friend for a long time. Sure he was my buddy but between the two of use, there was no understanding towards the feelings of females. So, I had no idea if he would get what I was going to ask him.

"Do you have Maka's number?" I inquired.

There was a silence, which for Black Star, was bad.

"Dude..." He responded. "First, why would you be calling her and second, WHY THE HELL DO YOU THINK _I _HAVE HER NUMBER?"

I ran my hands through my hair, catching a glimpse of red so I immediately pulled down my sleeve.

"Well you told me to apologize..." I said.

"No I didn't." Black Star answered.

Right. The was my fucking conscience. Holy shit, I was becoming a softie.

"Either way, you said I treated her badly, so I have to apologize don't I?" I said, holding the phone with my opposite hand now.

"Soul...I know it would feel like the right thing to do but," he paused. "DON'T YOU HAVE ANY PRIDE?"

I jumped at his sudden outburst.

"Yeah but-"

"You're a_ man _aren't you? Make _her _apologize!" Black Star advised.

For some reason that didn't sound right.

"But wasn't I in the wrong?" I questioned, confused by Black Star's damn mind.

He went from being sympathetic towards Maka to ... on my side.

"BAHAHA! But you don't have to _admit _it." As Black Star rambled I started to get the idea he had now fucking clue what he was talking about at all. It was like his words were going in one ear and out the other.

And as he talked on and on about the pride of a man "must have _honor _and a PENIS" I thought about Maka. Dammit. I didn't want to. I wanted to think about something more relaxing but she was always on my mind lately and it was a pain thinking about her nerdy ass. I was starting to wonder whether she was actually anorexic or not.

I would feel really bad if she actually was. If she really _was _anorexic that would be highly hurtful...wouldn't it? But fuck, why was I thinking about this as if I cared for her. She was a bitch...right?

Even if she wasn't anorexic, it's insulting to be called it if you weren't. But I thought girls liked be skinny, because they thought guys like skinny chicks. I personally would like a little damn meat. No offense to the girls who are skin and bones but you can't exactly make out with nothing. Not that I thought Maka was skin and bones but...

"Okay, Black Star, thanks for the advice but-"

"You're welcome Soul buddy!" Black Star cried. "Call me anytime you need my godly advice!"

Godly ... right.

_Click._

Okay, so how as I supposed to go about this?

"Hey mom." I said, walking into the kitchen.

"Are you going to play a piece for us, Soul-kun?" She asked sweetly.

"No."

Her expression turned dark, a look I was very much familiar.

My brother sat at the table eating a bowl of ice cream. He smirked and snorted, shaking his head.

I hated his ass so much that sometimes I considered beating it. Too bad he was stronger, for now.

"You know I would like it if you played more often." She informed me, sternly.

I raised an eyebrow.

"I think not." I replied.

Sometimes I wondered if we came from the same family. Even though I _was _considered a prodigy of the piano, I still felt like I didn't fit into the family of musicians. They were always too into it. They were always into playing the piece correctly and I was more of a person who liked to feel the music. Emotions were my philosophy. To me it sounded better but not to my parents.

"Do I get a bowl of ice cream?" I inquired, motioning towards my brother's bowl.

My mother smiled, as if ready to seize an opportunity.

"You will if you play!" She encouraged.

"I'll pass." I strutted out of the kitchen, earning another snicker from my brother, successfully ignored by the way.

I passed the piano as I walked back to the staircase and twitched, looking at the beautiful, white keys that were exposed. Their glow seeped into me and I was almost tempted to play. But not in front of the so called family of mine.

Maka

I was not going to talk to that bastard until he apologized or explained his reasoning for that matter. If he seems like he's sorry, I'll talk to him but if he continues to be a dumbass, I will ignore him.

_Soul also had a very bad problem when it came to his opinions. He couldn't ever judge if they would be hurtful to others or cause them great trouble so he said them without thinking, never knowing of the consequences. He also stated them out loud in front of anyone, free to be criticized by multiple people._

_He obviously never understood anyone's feelings, not be able to decipher what he should, or shouldn't ask._

I didn't care if he liked this section that I wrote because it was damn true and Soul Eater was going to have deal with it.

At school the next day, I tried to avoid him but he was staring at me all day. Finally during lunch, he pulled my elbow, making me cringe, and took me out into the hallway.

_"_Hey Maka..." He started, feeling awkward.

I raised an eyebrow and stood with my arms crossed.

_"_About yesterday..." He trailed off, watching Ami exit the cafeteria and waiting for her to get out of sight. "I didn't mean it to be offensive."

I raised an eyebrow.

_"_Is that an apology?" I questioned, tapping my foot.

"I guess...?"

It would have to do.

"Fine." I mumbled. "I don't care anymore."

Soul's eyebrow twitched upward.

"But...you're not?" He inquired.

I sniffled my nose, still annoyed by his questioning.

"It's none of your business." I remarked.

Soul suddenly grabbed my wrist and pushed me against the wall.

"If you wanna do this assignment right," he growled. "Then we have to work together."

I looked into his blood red eyes and should've been afraid but I wasn't. I was intimidated but more intrigued. Two weeks ago he didn't give two fucks about this assignment but the tables were turning weren't though.

"I'm not anymore." I hissed, turning on me heel and strutting away, trying not to look back at his stare that was burning through my back.

Liz

"HOLY SHIT IT DOESN'T MATTER!"

"Shhh!"

Okay, maybe we shouldn't have chosen to meet at a library. It was hard enough to convince my sister not to come but now I had to deal with the awkward quietness that would soon fall over Kid and me.

We were already arguing too.

"I'm telling you...you must either sit next to me or across to create a symmetrical balance!"

If I heard one more damn thing about symmetry, I was going to be on suicide watch.

"Your life isn't even that hard." I mumbled at his rich ass.

"What would you know?" Kid remarked coldly.

I was shaking my fist now and our voices were probably getting to loud for being in the library.

"My life is _very _difficult!"

We were both on our feet now, at each others necks.

"How would you like living in a life full of OCD and your powerful father's expectations!" Kid cried, slamming his fist.

"How would _you _like growing up on the _streets_?"

I said too much and I covered my mouth.

"L-Liz."

Tsubaki

I was so scared that I was shaking. My fingertips curled around the door handle. I knew he was waiting for me.

"H-Hello?" I stammered, peeking through the front door.

"You're late, you useless sister!" My brother hissed through gritted teeth. "And where's my food?"

I didn't tell him I didn't have enough money to buy anything. I wanted to say something like 'get a job so you can go to college' but I kept my mouth shut, knowing it would be best.

"Boring girl...can't even respect her older brother."

He started getting this way last year when our parents died. I've tried to keep a smile to hide it but sometimes things just slip and I can't keep up the happy-go-lucky personality.

But when he cracked his knuckles, I knew what was going to come to me. I shut my eyes and squeezed all the muscles in the body to try to lessen the impact.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note: <strong>Holy shit I'm evil! Okay sorry guys but I just started high school and it is _scary_. Not so much anymore because today was my second day but yesterday, my first day, a group of seniors came down the hallway screaming "Get outta the way freshmen!" and we were so freaked out lol. I kinda wanted to beat the shit outta them though. So of course I got a crapload of homework and business. Sorry I'm complaining to you guys but I've been so packed. I'm already in an AP class and I'm 14 T_T Anyway, sorry I left you with such an evil cliffhanger but I can't really write because I have AP homework to do *more sobs* so review because it'll make my day (night)!

Love ya!


	8. Chapter 8

_One book in one year, written about your partner. Game on. Oh wait, they're writing about you too. [SoMa, TsuStar, KidLiz]  
><em>

_Rated M for Mature content_

_Genre: Romance, Suspense_

.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o._  
><em>

x ｆ ｉ ｃ ｔ ｉ ｏ ｎ x

Ｓ ｕ ｎ ｓ ｈ ｉ ｎ ｅ Ｇ ｉ ｒ ｌ ０ ９

Tsubaki

I was beginning to warm up to my partner and all but...Black Star was following me around all day, even to classes that I know he didn't have like Pre-calc, so I knew something was up.

"Who the hell are you?" My teacher demanded.

Maka snickered in the corner, shaking her head.

Kid looked up, his feet on top of the desk in front of him.

"Black Star!" He hollered. "I can do this shit!" He continued, pointing at the equations on the board.

I didn't know if he understood advanced inequalities.

"Get the fuck outta this class." Some smart ass kid grumbled.

Black Star raised his fist, ready to fight.

Before I could intervene, the teacher called out, "Would you please leave? You're disrupting my class!"

Black Star raised his eyebrows repeatedly and I shoved my hand into my forehead in agony, feeling a rush of pain suddenly. Forgot about that bruise...

I couldn't believe I was partners with him.

As he exited the classroom he turned to me and pointed to fingers from his eyes and then to me, the _I'm watching you _look. My face burned red as all the stares in the class turned towards me.

I just smiled and rubbed the back of my neck.

_This is awkward._

Maka

Now I kinda wished that I hadn't bitched at Soul earlier. It was incredibly awkward between us as we silently wrote in our journals. Why'd I have to go and call him out? I mentally slapped myself, reminding myself that he deserved it.

"You gonna stop staring at me?" He barked, annoyed.

I just shivered and pretended I wasn't looking at him. He scowled.

He didn't seem to be feeling that sorry anymore.

"So about the piano-"

"None of your business." He didn't say it harshly. It was a soft tone that wasn't quite a whisper but I could tell he was feeling touchy about it. What could've possibly be so emotional about a piano? I never understood music much.

"Well are you gonna tell me about your anorexia?" He suggested.

_Punch._

"Well no...what if-"

"I'm not doing it." Soul cut me off. "I won't tell you about ... the piano if you share your anorexia stories."

When he said stories I shivered and my eyes started to water. Soul's eyebrow twitched. I wondered if he noticed.

"I'm gonna go ask Marie-sensei something." I announced, standing up, leaving him.

Liz

Okay...Kid was staring at me far too long all day. Seriously, I don't think he'd every waste his precious eyes on me this much if I hadn't told him about the streets. I didn't even go into depth yet he was either intrigued or worried. Or both.

"Liz..." There was an awkward silence between us at the library. "Will you tell me about-"

"No!"

"Shh!" The librarian scolded for probably the third time.

Kid seemed dissatisfied with my answer but I was bound and determined not to mention life a few years ago to him. A snobby rich bitch like him probably couldn't understand and frankly, I wasn't in the mood to elaborate.

"If we don't know enough about each other we will not be able to complete this assignment." Kid argued.

"As if I give a shit." I grumbled.

"Language!"

That lady needed to chill out right now.

Kid and I weren't getting anywhere. The only thing we managed to both do together was glare at each other.

Soul

I was going to attempt to avoid playing the piano. Of course my mom brings a famous Japanese musician bitch into the house. She wore black heels that were too shiny for my liking and in her hands she held a clipboard.

I narrowed my eyes, preparing to quickly escape upstairs.

"Soul-kun..." My mother addressed me. Shit. "Would you like to play for this lovely lady?"

I raised an eyebrow, extremely tempted to reject.

The musician gave me a slight warm smile...it was more mischievous though. Her purple hair pissed me of anyway so her 'smile' wasn't doing much for me.

"Yeah Soul-kun..." She cooed, her boobs getting squished against her folded arms.

"Blair-san plays the harp."

Like I give a fuck.

Nonetheless...I managed a smirk and took my place on the piano bench, placing my fingers gently over the oh-so-familiar keys that I loved and hated at the same time.

I looked at the sheet music.

_Nostradamus: Concert de Folie_

Otherwise known as Nostradamus: Concert of Insanity, the insanely dark and twisted piece I knew very well.

Taking in a deep breath, I slammed my fingers down, playing the first four chords so loudly they rang throughout the house.

My hands moved up and down the keys so fast, I didn't realize that I had truly mastered the tempo. Dark notes flowed through the house and it seemed like everyone within a mile radius had stopped to listen.

The volume of the chords that I was playing was incredibly high and intense.

After a few chorus came the soft bridge. High, soft notes played very quickly. It was such a contrast to how the piece sounds like at first that when I got back to the final chorus, I noticed that my brother who had gathered to watch also, and Blair and my mom had either jumped or fidgeted at the blast of sound.

Finally towards the end, I played a quick loud scale from one end of the piano to the other. Then extremely high notes were played hard...chords...and then it ended with one, super loud, contrasting chord.

I swear to god that the air in the room was colder.

"Wow!" Blair exclaimed. "That was really good!"

I could tell she was still amazed. If my life hadn't been a whol fucking contest between me and my brother, I'd enjoy playing the piano much more than I do now. And he's got that freaking smirk that makes me wanna smack the shit outta him.

My mother wasn't so happy with my choice in music but she still couldn't deny I was amazing...but not as good as my brother.

Wes gave me his little eyebrow raise and ruffled my hair. I was tempted to jump at him but I refrained myself and tried to keep my calm and cool facade that I normally managed.

"If you don't mind..." I muttered.

Getting up from the piano bench, I made my way towards the stairs. Almost there...

"Soul?" My mom wondered. "Aren't you going to come and be social? Blair goes to your school you know."

Then, turning around with the best smile I could manage, I told her, "I've got tons of homework. Sorry." I quickly left before the midst of and argument could dawn upon us.

Lying on my bed, I glanced out and gazed towards the sunset. Call me a pussy if you want, but I really wanted to lay outside under it. It was getting cold though and I hated being cold. Fall was settling in and summer was going on vacation.

My phone lay motionless next to my foot. I pushed it towards my hand with my foot and picked it up. I looked at my recent texts and spotted the ones to Black Star about Maka and my stomach did a flip flop. I felt so bad for her at the same time of hating her. Was that bad?

Shaking my head, I looked back out through the window, wishing I could escape. I felt like I was drowning in asphyxiated insanity.

Maka

Soul looked more depressed than normal. I wondered if his night was as bad as mine? I knew that he had problems with his family but I wasn't sure if they were like mine or not.

I was actually kind of curious and my thoughts towards him had changed slightly since he apologized. Because he didn't apologize like a normal guy, doing it in person and looking sincere, I wondered if he wasn't as 'bad ass' and 'chill' as he tried to make everyone think.

It was lunch when I was watching him look blankly at his food, extremely depressed. I was alone and so was he. Tsubaki was trying to avoid Black Star, who'd been chasing her around all week and Kid and Liz were nowhere to be seen.

"Hey..." So I went to see how the dickface was doing.

"What the fuck do you want?" He mumbled.

My eye twitched.

"I was just saying hi." I growled back, placing my hands on my hips.

Soul sighed.

"Hi."

Well at least I got that out of the bastard.

"You look depressed." I informed him in a 'as-a-matter-of-factly' tone.

"Yeah? Well so do you..." He said.

There was an awkward silence between us and he looked up at me. Blood red eyes meeting bright green ones.

"Do you wanna talk about it?" We both covered our mouths, realized we had just said the same thing.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note: <strong>Sorry. Sorry. Sorry. Lol. I never figured that high school would have THIS much homework T_T Baha, sorry if some of you thought I was really struggling though with the seniors and stuff. Have no fear. I don't let this stuff get to me. If you're an old reviewer and have read some of my older stories you'd know I've dealt with gangs and really bad shit and I'm not phased anymore! Have no fear! I shall always update...unless I die...I'd try in heaven though. Anyway, I know this is short but I've been supremely busy anddd I'm going to a dance right now. Ughh I was going to post this on Wednesday but my damn computer froze and I lost all that I'd written. I know. I should've saved. PLEASE R&R GUYS *heart*


	9. Chapter 9

_One book in one year, written about your partner. Game on. Oh wait, they're writing about you too. [SoMa, TsuStar, KidLiz]  
><em>

_Rated M for Mature content_

_Genre: Romance, Suspense_

.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o._  
><em>

x ｆ ｉ ｃ ｔ ｉ ｏ ｎ x

Ｓ ｕ ｎ ｓ ｈ ｉ ｎ ｅ Ｇ ｉ ｒ ｌ ０ ９

Maka

Soul and I sat by the park two blocks from school. I was lying upside down on the slide while he stood nearby. It was weird. It felt like we were a couple or something. I mentally slapped myself for thinking that.

At first we didn't talk. It was awkward. Then Soul just started to spill.

"I hate my own brother." He confessed.

I gave a cold laugh.

"I hate my father." I added.

We both looked at each other and his face looked distorted because he was right side up and I wasn't.

"Yeah well..." Soul grumbled. "My brother plays the violin and he's too fucking good at it if you ask me." He continued, tugging his sleeves down constantly.

I sighed. He obviously didn't like sharing this information.

"My dad's a player. He's too good at swooning women other than my mother if you ask _me_." I didn't know if my slight, desperate relating to him was making him feel better or just annoying him.

"My parent's expect me to be as good as my brother in everything." Soul said. "They think I should be this great composer. They think that I'm the same genius that Wes is."

Feeling the blood rush to my head, I sat up and slid down the slide, landing closer to Soul, assuming that Wes was his brother.

"Does Wes think this too?" I wondered.

Soul gave a cold laugh, similar to mine expect deeper and with more of a growl.

"He's only amused. I don't think he's worried. He'd be acting different if he actually thought I was his competition." Soul explained.

"Do you like the piano?" I questioned, feeling dumb because he obviously showed so much distaste towards playing, while I got up from the slide.

"More than anything."

I nearly fell into the pole that held the swings. What the hell?

"Seriously?" I exclaimed. "But you-"

"The reason I hate the piano is because whenever I play it, it feels like it's suddenly a competition with my brother and not out of my own enjoyment." Soul said deeply, gripping the pole that had nearly met my head.

I bit my lip.

"So is it all of your family besides Wes that's pressuring you?" I inquired, sitting on the swing.

Soul let go of the pole, probably realizing he was metaphorically killing it.

"It's mainly my mom." He remarked. "My father is a goddamn wimp. He just goes along with her. And my mom just likes to showcase my skills to everyone and their brother...etc."

I sighed. His situation was opposite of mine. His mother was nagging and stalked him. I was neglected by my family.

Then again, I thought about what happened to me last night. My father had brought a high school girl with lavender hair around midnight home and they were 'at it' all night. I couldn't sleep. So I yelled at him at 3 AM and he was so drunk he actually bitched at me. I know my father loves me but he's to blinded by my mother's betrayal to help me with anything anymore.

It was crazy.

"Yeah last night...my dad brought home a girl who actually goes to Shibuson. An upperclassmen." I informed Soul.

This seemed to slightly perk his interest. He raised a silver eyebrow in question.

"What did she look like?" Soul inquired.

I blinked.

"Purple hair." I told him, pushing off the ground and starting to swing, not making eye contact.

Soul seemed to be uneasy.

"Was her name...by any chance, Blair?" He asked.

_"Oh Blair!"_

"_No, don't stop!"_

I nearly smirked almost sadistically. At least my dad remembered the names of the girls he fucked.

"Yep."

Soul grabbed my swing, stopping me from moving. I looked into those red eyes that didn't seem to be as scary anymore.

"My mom brought a girl to my house the other day also." He said. "Named Blair."

I now realized he knew her too. Well I didn't _know _her. I just saw her stumble through the door of my house and up to the bedroom. _Then _I _heard _her all night. Trust me, if you gave me 5 different screams, I'd be able to tell which one was hers after hearing 7 hours of it.

Just then, I started to feel something wet drip down my forehead. Raindrop.

Slowly, rain sprinkled down on us, Soul looked up at the sky, cussing.

"Let's go into the coffee shop." He quickly suggested, showing distaste towards the water in a way that reminded me of a cat suffering in a downpour. The thought of Soul being a cat made me giggle to myself.

"What are you laughing about?" Soul demanded as I sprang up and started sprinting to the coffee house that was just down the street, clinging my book bag to my chest.

Unfortunately, the rain didn't spare our clothes any dry spots and I found my two pigtails clinging to my neck as I walked into the little shop, while the thick aroma of coffee filled my nostrils.

Loved the smell. Hated the substance.

"Ah...it's cold." Soul complained. I could tell he was about to swear but it took me a while to realize after that he had quickly glanced at the five year old child in the corner, playing chess by herself. Good job refraining himself.

"Okay, let's buy something." He said.

I shook my head.

"I don't have any money." I informed him, looking up at the prices.

"It's fine. My family's rich. Just be happy I'm doing a fu- _freaking _favor for you." Soul said, almost slipping up again.

I sighed.

"Well I don't like coffee." I said, scanning the menu. "But I do like hot chocolate with _extra _whipped cream."

Soul rolled his eyes.

"Fu- ...screw you." He saved himself once more.

I was about to sigh in sadness when I realized he was actually buying me the hot chocolate. When it was on the counter, Soul took the drinks and we sat down by the window, facing opposite each other.

This was my first time going out with a boy alone and I didn't seem to be as scared as I thought I would.

After taking my first sip of the hot chocolate, I reached down and pulled out my journal from my book bag that was resting from the floor. Then I took out my ball point pen and began to write.

Soul tried to peek over my shoulder, but I brushed him off, not allowing him to see.

_Soul was the best basketball player known at his school. He was so good but everyone thought he hated it because of his nasty, unnecessary attitude towards it. Of course he was hiding a secret pain, that didn't have to do with disliking the sport itself. He held back the pain of pressure. If he had only told someone about it. If he had only said something. Then maybe people wouldn't have misunderstood him._

I wasn't about to make my character in my book play the piano. Not only because it'd be unoriginal and too alike something in real life but I felt like I owed Soul not to say anything about that because Marie-sensei was reading this. I don't know why but I felt we had some sort of secret code of silence between us. It was underground and subconscious but neither of us was about to tell anyone our secrets.

Soul sipped his coffee in silence and words weren't said between us. I wondered if he was thinking about what he was going to write about me. I wanted to actually go further into the topic about Blair but I stayed silent. Silence right now was the best.

Tsubaki

Shit. He was following me home.

"Black Star." I said out loud, walking down the street in the pouring rain. "I see you."

"No you don't!" A cry came from behind a tree.

The problem with him was he couldn't be sneaky. Maybe if he really wanted to but... his pride. He wanted people to know who exactly was stalking them. He wanted everyone to know who was able to pull of this stalking. But because of this he _couldn't _stalk people without being noticed.

I walked behind the tree and bonked him on the head. I'd been hanging out with him for about a month now, a few times a week, I knew him pretty well. Better than he thought I did.

"Ow Tsubaki! What are you doing here?" Black Star rambled. "Such a coincidence to see _you _here!"

My eye twitched. I on the other hand did not think that this was a coincidence. Either way, there was no way I was going to let him see my house or the others that resided in it.

"Come on let's go do something together than." I said, faking a smile. I really did not want to. I had a whole load of my brother's laundry to do before he got back.

Black Star rubbed the back of his neck, almost embarrassed.

"Well...I guess a god like me could chill with a commoner like you." He pondered.

"C-Commoner?" I wondered. He was really pushing it.

"Okay!" Black Star exclaimed. "Where do you wanna go?"

And that was how I ended up seeing a movie with Black Star.

Black Star

I dunno what was wrong with Tsubaki but the chick was crying all over me. It was just a love story. I mean, a tragic one but she was in all tears and I found myself, being the great god I am, patting her on the head.

"It's all good." I told her, fighting off the angry stares of disturbed people.

Some were telling me to get my 'girlfriend' to 'stop crying' well considering she wasn't my girlfriend then I didn't have to do it. Besides, I would be a mean guy to do that.

So I let her cry while the main character was getting tortured in front of his girl in the movie. He seemed to be a wimp. If that was happening to me in front of my girl, I'd be all like 'Hey it's okay! This is nothing! I'm letting this guy beat me up!' Nah. This dude in the movie sucks.

Even when we were out of the theater, Tsubaki was still crying. And that was when I noticed streaks of purple once again on her cheeks and I felt my suspicion rise once more. I knew well more than anyone what bruises look like and that they don't just disappear from your face.

Tsubaki looked at the tears on her hands and gasped.

"Oh my makeup is washing off!" She cried. "Wait a second, Black Star!"

I was tempted to followed her into the girl's bathroom but that was just plain wrong.

When she returned the streaks were gone and I was now convinced that she was trying to hide bruises with makeup. The real question now, was how gave her those bruises. Because they had some hell to pay.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note: <strong>I'm injured! SOBS! I hurt my hip and dance and have to recover it sucks. I'm kinda depressed. The guy I'm in love with, who used to love me, is in love with another girl and I'm hurt. T_T and my friend's older bro is stalking me! Wahhh. Sorry for my sob story lol. Anyway, hope you guys are still sticking with me. Never knew it'd be this hard to update because of high school. Anyway again...review...oh and I've starting to watch a new korean drama called 'dream high' and it's AMAZING. Yeah ...mmkayy bye!


	10. Chapter 10

_One book in one year, written about your partner. Game on. Oh wait, they're writing about you too. [SoMa, TsuStar, KidLiz]  
><em>

_Rated M for Mature content_

_Genre: Romance, Suspense_

.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o._  
><em>

x ｆ ｉ ｃ ｔ ｉ ｏ ｎ x

Ｓ ｕ ｎ ｓ ｈ ｉ ｎ ｅ Ｇ ｉ ｒ ｌ ０ ９

Soul

I sat and ate my lunch like a loner. To be honest, I didn't really care. In fact, I was concerned about my Japanese Lit. Assignment more than I should've been. I wasn't really worrying about not having any friends like normal. Because normally, I was just that guy who could sit and chill with anyone at any table, but not today.

Besides, most people at lunch were helping out teachers prepare for the Halloween dance. Halloween was kind of a big deal in Death City. It was like Christmas in America.

Today there was a pain and ache in my arms, a throbbing headache that was keeping me from thinking and tired eyes that bags under them with endless depth.

I pulled out my notebook, quickly glancing around, making sure Maka wasn't around to see me write.

_Maka had a reason to try hard that most people didn't see. She never chose the right ways to display her feelings. Ever. There was something hidden inside of her and she always concealed it from others, making people think she was more conceited than she was. Her outward appearance could be misleading but she was too stubborn to change it._

I didn't want to admit it but I didn't hate Maka nearly as much as I did before. I almost pitied her. There was actually a part of me that wanted her father to be nice to her and for me to actually force him to.

And then I physically slapped myself in the face (hoping no one saw) and woke my crazy mind up. This was ugly, flat chested, stubborn and violent Maka. I did _not _feel bad for her.

So I dumped my tray along with the psycho thoughts about her.

I hadn't even seen her all day. She wasn't in Japanese Lit. or at lunch.

Maka

I had been crying all morning. Just a song that reminded me of 9th grade was all it took to break me down.

"Not again." I murmured, crumpled on the floor with my earphones in. I could've sworn that I deleted it but the song ... the song came on shuffle while I was taking a drink of milk on floor of my room while packing my school bag.

It hit me and I sat there crying for about an hour. Then I realized that school had already started so I waited until lunch to go back to school. My father was at work and he couldn't call me in late. The office at school was going to be so pissed.

I strolled down the streets of Death City while chewing on part of a sandwich for my lunch, feeling slightly revived after my ... problem...that morning. I saw some stares from people in the market, probably wondering why I wasn't in school.

Normally I would've freaked out for missing but considering I'd been sobbing all morning, despite my usual toughness I tried to keep up, I considered this a proper situation to skip.

I was pretty sure Stein wouldn't like me coming into Chemistry late either.

He was rambling on about reactants and substrates when I walked in. But he really didn't notice me much to my surprise. Stein just subconsciously grabbed my pass from my hands and continued on about enzymes and how we were going to use them in the lab.

I took a seat next to a displeased Ox Ford and heard Soul shift in his seat from behind me, obviously noticing.

"Please join two tables together per experiment." Stein announced. "We're running low on ingredients since some people in the last hour had some problems with making symmetric reactions."

A couple kids chuckled, knowing who he was obviously talking about.

"Tables 1 and 2, 3 and 4, 5 and 6..."

Great. We were with Soul and Black Star.

"I WANNA BE WITH TSUBAKI!" Black Star declared. "I'm switching."

"No you're _not_." Stein argued. They had a glaring war.

There were some awkward glances between Soul and I. Especially since we were so open with each other the other day.

While we worked in the lab, trying to make solutions and working with new chemical equations, Black Star had gone to Tsubaki's group, I felt Soul's eyes on me the whole time.

"Stop staring at me." I finally hissed.

Soul rolled his eyes.

"You think I'm staring at your ugly ass?" He wondered.

"I know you are." I grumbled lowly.

"Yeah well-"

"Focus!" Ox cut in but Soul and I both shot evil glares towards him and he began to do the rest of the work.

With shaking hands, I set the test tube down and returned my gaze towards Soul.

"Why don't you do something?" I suggested, sarcastically.

Soul gave a twitch of his eyebrows before responding.

"Fine." He coldly mumbled, reaching towards the test tube..

I watched his pale hands and as he grasped the tube, his sleeve ruffled upwards slightly and a jagged red line caught my eye. Soul quickly covered his sleeve but during his attempt he dropped the tube and it shattered.

"Dammit!" He cried.

"Soul!"

We both moved away from the glass, careful not to cut ourselves on it and then the blood red, jagged line came to my mind again and I looked at Soul.

"What?" He wondered. "I didn't mean to drop the fucking thing!"

"Nothing..." I mumbled.

While we were talking quietly, Ox was freaking out because we messed up the experiment. So finally after five minutes of his ranting, I hit him on the head with a book and it shut him up.

"Are you guys gonna clean that up?" Stein droned from his sleeping position on his desk.

"Yeah!" Soul called, looking at my gaze that was transfixed on the glass.

I looked at him and he just rolled his eyes as if I was supposed to say something.

I avoided his hands as we bent over and picked up the glass but by the end of the class I couldn't take it.

Once I picked up my books and the bell rang, I grabbed Soul's elbow and pulled him out into the hallway, around a corner so our classmates couldn't see us.

"What the fuck are you doing?" He growled.

I said no words though. I grabbed his arm, lifting it up higher and shoved his sleeve up.

Lined along the inside of his forearm were cuts. Jagged, deep slices into his skin. There were about 20 or 30 of them. To many to count by a glance. And they made me drop his arm and stumble back into the wall, letting his dark, red eyes bore into me. He looked slightly angry but more stern and serious than mad.

Not only did it trigger memories of 9th grade but unknown emotions flowed through me like a waterfall.

Soul

It wasn't really what I had expected when she pulled me out of the door. Her eyes turned watery and green at the sight of my arms and I couldn't really understand my own feelings. Honestly, I did not want _anyone _finding out about this. And now she had me. I knew I should've been more careful but here she was standing before me, staring at my wrist.

"Why?" She said in a scratchy voice.

My fists were now clenched by my sides. My throat was sore and I could feel my eyelids get heavier as I slowly closed them. She better had not been pitying me.

"Soul..."

"Just," What was I supposed to say? "Don't worry about it."

I tried to leave her but I felt her presence behind me.

"Go do some fucking homework or something." I growled, trying to keep her away.

At the time I didn't care if I hurt Maka. She needed to leave. Needed to stop hanging out with someone like me or she'd just turn out even worse than she already was.

I didn't look back as I left her standing there.

As I strutted down the hallway, purple hair caught my eye. I turned and watched Blair with all her big breasted friends skip down the hallway and suddenly I got an idea.

I followed her and while doing so I realized what I fucking slut she really was, cooing at random guys in the hallway, adjusting her skirt constantly...

This was going to be easy.

I grabbed her wrist and she snapped her hand around and looked at me.

It took her a moment.

"Ah!" She finally cried. "You're Soul Ev-"

"Yeah." I cut her off, keeping her from saying things that she shouldn't.

"What do ya want?" She wondered, smacking her gum, trying to be cute, while her friends shifted their weight into their hips in annoyance.

"I was thinking..." Ugh. How could I stoop this low? "That you wanted to hook up?"

This put a smile on her lips and it was more pleased than amused.

"Sure." She responded, looking down, hopefully _not _towards my pants. She probably already wanted to get into them. I had to be careful. I heard what Maka had said Blair and her father had been doing.

"Wanna prove it?" Blair questioned, pushing her friends away.

My eye twitched and I tried to ignore the fact that she was taller than me.

She stepped towards me and I fought my body from stepping back.

Blair snatched my tie pulling me by it so I was close to her face. Too close to be comfortable. I mean she was hot but-

Her lips connected to mine and I realized that I had her. She was going to be my girlfriend. It's not like I wanted this because I wanted her.

I just didn't want Maka to ever get close to again. I didn't want her to worry about the cuts or feel for more to the point where she'd tell someone about it. Besides, Maka hated me anyway.

But when we drew apart I hear a huge thump. I turned to my head to the side and saw Maka standing there, her books by her toes, eyes and mouth wide open.

Shit. That wasn't supposed to be in front of her.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Sorrrrrry long time before an update but I'm shhhupppper busy. Yeah I'll always update though ;) It's heating up babyyyy! Yeah apparently the guy I like never was in love with her but he did that to push me away because of some...stuff. It's kinda where I got this inspiration from. The main reason that this story was rated M was because of cutting and self harm but maybe some other stuff. I kinda planned Soul to be a cutter for a while like before I wrote the story. I put hints in other chapters too. So review guysss! I love it.  
><strong>


	11. Chapter 11

_One book in one year, written about your partner. Game on. Oh wait, they're writing about you too. [SoMa, TsuStar, KidLiz]  
><em>

_Rated M for Mature content_

_Genre: Romance, Suspense_

.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o._  
><em>

x ｆ ｉ ｃ ｔ ｉ ｏ ｎ x

Ｓ ｕ ｎ ｓ ｈ ｉ ｎ ｅ Ｇ ｉ ｒ ｌ ０ ９

Liz

Sometimes, people just need to learn, to shut...the fuck...up. And I wasn't over exaggerating. Not only was Kid following me around like a puppy when he had the chance, but he wasn't doing it to hang with me or talk. He was asking questions.

"Psst. Liz!" I jumped for the hundredth time that day.

"What?" I snapped at Kid.

"Do you need an edible substance to consume?" He wondered in all seriousness as we were walking down the hallway.

I nearly tripped over thin air.

"Stop that!" I demanded.

"Stop what?" Kid innocently questioned.

I rolled my eyes, stopping in the hallway and glancing around us.

"Babying me...I don't need _an edible substance to consume_," I informed him. "I _have _food."

I thought that was the end of it because he had stopped talking to me...until I found pieces of bread in my locker. And candy. And apples. Not only that but Kid would throw crackers at me in class and at lunch.

Ever since he had heard _briefly _about my street life...he assumed I had no food. No clothes. No water... God it pissed me off. But somewhere inside of me, it made me a feel a bit warm.

Tsubaki

Maka wouldn't answer her phone. I was crept up in my room and had been calling her but she never picked up or responded to my texts. I was wasting my minutes on her so I was pissed that she wouldn't pick up.

I had been dying to get out of the house so we could go shopping together for costumes for the Halloween dance. In Death City, Halloween was practically Christmas in normal cities. It was huge.

My dress had to be special. And I knew Maka could help me because she was the closest thing that I had to a friend that was a girl. I didn't really know if I could classify Black Star as a friend or a stalker.

Finally, I couldn't take it. I grabbed my purse and stormed out of the house, thankful my brother wasn't home to stop me. Jogging down the street, I managed to get to the corner where I waited for a bus.

It came in five minutes time and I climbed up the grimy steps and into the bustle of people sprawled about. I didn't think that anyone on the bus gave the least bit of care towards sanitation, or politeness for that matter. It was hard enough just to get a seat next to someone who wasn't snoring or ignorantly turned towards the window, attempting to not make eye contact with me, while still watching me out of the corner of their eye and dropping their stare once they saw that I had realized.

Such a pain.

I checked my messages and once more, saw that Maka had not responded.

When the bus driver stopped at the market, I got up asked the bus driver for his phone book, making people impatiently wait behind me. I flipped through the pages, whisking them away until I found Albarn. It was a good thing her name was in the A's otherwise I think the people behind me would've been on suicide watch.

I spotted the address in less than a minute and slammed the book shut and smiled sweetly at the people behind me as I set the phone book back on the dashboard.

"Gomen..." I managed an embarrassed smile to hide my irritation with their impatience.

While I stopped off the bus, I wondered why I was being so crabby. It could've been PMS but I guessed a lot of things had led up to my behavior. On that outside, others didn't realize my inner conflicts but they were there. I couldn't let people see what was really on the inside or they'd...think differently of me.

All I wanted to do was to return to the happy person I used to be.

The cold, bitter air jarred me back to reality and my gaze returned to the street where I tried to decipher the direction I needed to go, ignoring the constant flow of pedestrians.

I was in the center of the market and her apartment must've been straight ahead.

I wanted to try to enjoy this dance tomorrow night and I had a gut feeling that I needed to be with Maka right now. She was quickly turning into one of my closest friends.

Arriving at the shabby, multicolored apartment complex, I observed all the entrances and finally chose which one I wanted. I climbed the steps and went into a small hallway.

I located Maka's door and hesitated before wrapping my knuckles upon the wood.

There was a long stretch of silence and I was going to leave but a small, piping voice preventing me from doing so.

"Who is it?"

Maka was definitely in there, but her voice sounded shaken.

"It's Tsubaki!" I called in a cheerful tone.

The door swung open and there stood Maka. Her eyes were puffed and red but she put on a smile.

"Come on in!" She announced, moving aside so I could enter.

"Maka..." I said, walking in. "What's wrong?"

Maka led me to a red couch and encouraged me to sit.

"What are you talking about?" She wondered, pretending to be clueless as she walked into the small kitchen to grab refreshments.

I looked around, seeing a TV, a dinner table that was overcrowded with paper scraps and random junk, a tiny kitchen with non-stainless steel appliances and in the corner by a wastebasket we tons of tissues.

"Hey..." I started softly. "I _know _something is wrong."

I heard Maka sigh from behind me and hand me a glass of water that I didn't ask for.

"Why are you here?" She inquired, taking a seat next to me.

"Shopping!" I piped happily, trying to clear the fog of the awkward and sad atmosphere.

Maka folded her arms.

"Well that sounds...fun." She answered halfheartedly. "For what?"

I took a sip of water and closed my eyes, trying to appear as peaceful as I could.

"Costumes for the dance." I remarked smoothly, giving her a goofy grin.

Another sigh escaped from Maka's mouth.

"Oh." She replied in a small voice, curling her knees to her chest.

I felt my eyebrows furrow and I suddenly relaxed them as if feeling her unknown pain, yet still trying to decode what it was.

"Maka...what's wrong?" I asked, sincerely wanting to know just so I could comfort her.

There was a familiar twang in my heart as if what she wasn't telling me was something that I could relate to.

"I don't even know." Maka remarked. "I've been so depressed lately. I don't know why. It might have to do with what Soul did yesterday but it shouldn't." She frowned. "It could be something else leading to that. I'm just so confused about...everything."

What did Soul do? I thought Maka was invincible to his insults. Unless she...no. That wouldn't be right.

"What happened with Soul?" I asked, propping my elbow on the back of the couch so I could properly face Maka.

Maka shook her head, tracing invisible circles on her knee caps that were still pressed close to her body.

"Something that shouldn't make me feel this way." She responded, slugging her shoulders. "I don't care about him or what he thinks of me but for some reason...what he did yesterday just...bothered me."

Suspense was just eating me alive by now.

"What did he do?" I demanded, feeling slightly protective of my blonde classmate.

Maka licked her lips.

"He kissed Blair."

I blinked. Blair...the only Blair I knew, was an upperclassman.

"Purple hair Blair?" I wondered, setting my glass down on the coffee table, knowing that if I held on any longer, my shaking hands would drop it and that wouldn't improve the dismal atmosphere.

Maka nodded.

"Ew." I said, almost smiling, trying to make her feel better. "Are you sure she didn't kiss him? I mean she's kind of a slut so-"

Maka

"I know he kissed her." I answered, the vivid memory playing again in my mind.

But it wasn't like all the tissues in the corner were from me crying over Soul. They were from my breakdown yesterday morning. I was becoming such a mess lately and hadn't seen my dad in a few days and I wasn't sure if I was worried or pissed. Or both.

I didn't like Soul. I knew that. So why was I bothered so much over this? Was it because I didn't like Blair? Or because Soul was just one of my friends and I didn't _want _him to be with a girl my dad had fucked?

Or was it because of Soul's cuts that had led to more depression.

'_I was thinking...you wanna hook up?' _Soul was definitely doing that with her on purpose.

I couldn't believe I had cared an instant about his cutting.

"Well..." I started to say, realizing that Tsubaki was watching me intently. "She kissed him, but he told her that they should hook up. So it's all his fault."

Tsubaki stood there contemplating for a moment.

"Well," she said. "You wanna know what's even better than going to a dance with a hot date?"

I blinked in confusion.

"Going to a dance single to show the hot guys what they _can't _have."

My frown turned upside down and I was literally hugging her. I still had a lingering sadness but she had made my day so much better and just by saying one line. Also by the fact that she had come to my house to help me.

"One second." I informed. "I'm just gonna grab my purse."

I located the purple purse under my bed and snatched it up, returning by Tsubaki's side. We both walked out together and I locked the door. When I put my keys back in my purse and pulled out my phone.

My eye twitched.

Tsubaki called me four times and sent me two text messages. I hadn't even looked at my phone all day.

"Sorry..." I murmured quietly.

oOoOo

We found a cute little shop a block from the market. It was filled with tons of awesome dresses and costumes. The two of us walked around aimlessly, unsure of what we wanted.

"Cute...or hardcore..." I mumbled to myself, glancing at Tsubaki.

"Hardcore." We guffawed loudly and continued our search throughout the cluttered shop.

I didn't want any of the girly costumes because I already wore a preppy uniform to school everyday and half their girly costumes were school uniforms, sailor style. I didn't want it.

Finally after a half hour of searching, my fingers traced black fabric. There were onyx robes that came with a plaid skirt and a big scythe. It looked so cool! I thought it was a totally character clash but I wanted the outfit so badly.

"Tsubaki..." I quietly spoke, ushering her over.

Tsubaki shuffled over to me and examined it.

"Cool," she breathed.

I tried it on in the changing room and smirked to myself. For the first time in weeks I felt happy. I didn't think the clothes were making me feel this way either. Just the fact that I was having fun with a girl friend for once. It had been a while.

"Wow!" Tsubaki cheered when I came out from the curtain. "You look fabulous!"

I beamed at her, smiling genuinely, hardly believing that hours ago I had been sobbing my eyes out.

"What do you have in your hand?" I gestured towards her arm, where a costume was draped over.

Tsubaki winked at me, pulling out a weapon from behind her.

"Chain scythe." She answered. "Since neither of us have guys to go with we'll go together!"

I was beginning to like her more and more.

We paid for our costumes and while at the counter, Tsubaki looked incredibly guilty as she took out her wallet and paid for the costume that was 25,000 yen. Mine was about the same.

But I just used my father's credit card.

Soul

I was beginning to regret the whole Blair thing. Not only did she insist on going to the dance with me (which I originally had no intent on going to) but she wanted to _hang _out. Which should be translated to _make _out.

Before I left the house, I contemplated many different ways of avoiding her but none of my secret escape plans were fool proof. Besides, when my mom found that I was dating Blair she thought it was 'great'.

And _that _meant she was hoping that Blair would get me more motivated to play the piano. I should've explained to my mother that Blair was going to try to get me to play something else...

I walked with the purple haired girl through the market.

"Bubble tea!" She cried in excitement. "Oh my gosh!"

So the brat pulled me over to the tea stand which was just fucking _great._

"Do _you _like bubble tea, Soul-kun?" She cooed.

I twitched. Not necessarily.

She bought two cups and held one out to me.

I blinked, examining the cup. There were...things on the bottom. Black balls.

If I was gonna half to do this shit with her all night someone was gonna die. I don't know who...

Maka

The gym was so crowded the next night it was almost frightening. People bounced around everywhere in brightly colored costumes, drinking orange punch. The gym was littered with lighted, carved pumpkins and various Halloween decorations and everyone was there. Even the dickface Ox Ford showed up.

Tsubaki and I skipped in, our costumes on, scythes in hand. I started to feel slightly exited, despite some painful flashbacks reoccurring in my mind every time I heard the shrill laugh of someone having fun.

"It's so packed!" Tsubaki commented.

I nodded in agreement, scanning the room.

In the dark gymnasium it was hard to see. The pumpkins and other lights didn't illuminate much, besides the movement of dancing bodies that heated the dance floor, creating a fiery aura.

Liz actually found us. She came bounding towards us with a busty blonde girl, shorter than her.

"Ugh. There you guys are." She said, exhausted.

"Who are they, sis?" The blonde wondered, showing her interest by jumping up and down.

Liz sighed.

"That's Maka and- Whoa!" She cut herself off. "You're guys' costumes are great!"

"Maka and Whoa?" The blonde suggested. "Those names are kinda-"

"Maka and Tsubaki." Liz corrected. "This is my sister Patty."

Liz and her sister both were dressed up as gangster cowboys. Or at least that's what it looked like to me. They wore crimson shirts with a short pearly tie and stitched cowboy hats. Black, leather boots were strapped to their ankles.

I glanced over at Tsubaki who was dressed in a cream colored, slitted dress with a yellow star on her right breast. She had one black legging and black and gray arm warmers while her hair had been pulled back into a long and thing pony tail, black strands framing her sides.

I wore my scythe outfit obviously, but kept my hair in two pigtails and added to the costume two white gloves.

And that's when I spotted _him._

Liz

I was about to tell Patty to get us all punch when I felt someone grab my shoulder.

"So help me God-!" I turned around and smacked right into Kid, knocking us both over.

"Liz..." He groaned.

And that's when I got a glimpse of him when we were both sitting on the ground uncomfortably. My face burned red with embarrassment.

He was wearing a complimenting black suit with a skull broach. It made his amber eyes stick out.

"Who's that sis?" Patty demanded from above me.

I wiped my crimson face with my bare arm, hoping it would turn to be paler and that no one saw it anyway in the dark.

"My partner in Japanese Literature." I explained to my sister, who was staring Kid down while he awkwardly stood up, brushing himself off, hoping no one saw him fall on his ass.

"Remember that story I was writing?" I asked.

Patty stood and folded her arms.

"Oh YEAH!" She cried. "And you were saying-" I covered her mouth while Kid raised an eyebrow, still not saying anything.

This was starting to get really awkward.

"Let's all get punch!" I said with a laugh, pulling Kid and Patty by the arm.

Kid suddenly stopped in his tracks, his stare was averted downwards then back to me and my sibling, contemplating.

"What?" I inquired, annoyed.

"You two are sisters..." he trailed off. "THEN WHY DON'T YOU LIKE EACH OTHER? I see no symmetry!"

I nearly collapsed on the floor but instead I shoved a cup of punch to his mouth, forcing it down his throat.

"Just...shut up." I breathed.

Maka

After Liz and her sister plus Kid dramatically left, I was alone with Soul because Tsubaki started to slink away, murmuring 'Good luck'. She was expecting me to totally bitch at him.

Soul could hardly look at me.

"Hi." He managed to say, taking an odd interest in the floor, more than me.

I blinked.

"Hi." I noticed that he was wearing a yellow and black jacket that had the symbol of a soul on it. Covering his legs were crimson pants. On his headband was a badge that said 'e a t' and his name.

"What are you supposed to be?" I questioned, already starting off snappy.

Soul flashed me a pointed, twisted grin.

"Myself of course." He answered. "I eat souls."

I scoffed.

"Good one." I mumbled, closing my eyes and folding my arms, realizing how weird it was for us two to be standing together on the dance floor, surround by dancing bodies but not moving an inch.

"Yeah well," Soul growled. "What are you?"

"A scythe meister." I remarked. "At least _I _have some creativity."

Soul rolled his eyes.

"Creativity my fucking ass."

I twitched, still as pissed and hurt by him as I was before and it wasn't going away.

"Well did you come over here to piss me off?" I demanded. "Or do you have a reasonable explanation to be talking to me?"

Soul's eyes darted around the room.

"I do." He answered.

"Oh yeah?" I challenged.

"I need you to dance with me."

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note: OH WHAT NOW! Decently long chapter to quench your souls lolz. Cheesy line right there. But yeah for Halloween I went trick or treating. So what if I'm fifteen...I'm also five foot two so it's not like people will think I'm an adult if I've got a mask on. BWAHAHAHA I BET GRANDMAS COULD PULL OFF TRICK OR TREATING IF THEY WERE MASKS AND CLOAKS. That's what I'm gonna do when <em>I'm <em>eighty. Anywayyys review guys pleeease. It's starting to heat up!**


	12. Chapter 12

_One book in one year, written about your partner. Game on. Oh wait, they're writing about you too. [SoMa, TsuStar, KidLiz]  
><em>

_Rated M for Mature content_

_Genre: Romance, Suspense_

.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o._  
><em>

x ｆ ｉ ｃ ｔ ｉ ｏ ｎ x

Ｓ ｕ ｎ ｓ ｈ ｉ ｎ ｅ Ｇ ｉ ｒ ｌ ０ ９

Maka

Soul raised his hands and looked me in the eyes.

"O-Oi!" I faltered. "I never said I agreed!" I stumbled back at his sudden movement out of the stillness that had been between us.

"Well..." Soul sighed, looking up, contemplating over nothing. "It's not really an option for you." He smirked, grabbing my hands.

His touch sent a wave of shock through my body and I almost wanted to do anything just to let go so the run of electricity would stop flowing through my body but Soul was not so much that merciful. But his eyes did widen and then narrow again quickly before he gently placed one of my hands on his shoulder and then he rested that hand on my hip.

"Would you care to tell me why you have a sudden change of heart?" I wondered out loud, still pissed as hell at him.

Soul glanced around as if we were being watched while we slowly started to sway...very awkwardly.

"Blair..." He said cautiously, like he was waiting for a bomb to explode inside of me. But I kept my cool...for the most part. "I need to get rid of her."

"So you're using me." I answered, feeling my heart drop only slightly and my anger level rise far above that.

"In a way..."Soul remarked. "Yes. But this is also apologizing."

I didn't know what he was talking about. The Blair scene I had to see or his cuts? I didn't really press the topic because his reply was rather dark and had the hint that I had taken to be depressing.

There was a silence between us.

"Why did you do it?" I finally inquired, feeling my body shake.

"Do what?"

"Cut." I said, the word itself seemed to slice through my mouth as I spoke the insidious sound.

Soul's warm hands started to clench sending me the signal I had asked a very wrong question that should've been out of my place but after all that Soul had done to me, I felt that I had a right to ask.

"That is none of your business." He drawled, his pointy teeth sticking our obnoxiously.

I narrowed my eyes.

"Really? Because I think you should tell me." Soul and I were practically each others therapist.

"Yeah well-"

"Soul how could you?"

_Slap!_

Blair stormed away, leaving a red mark on Soul's cheek that didn't fail to amuse me in the slightest. She swayed her hips as she walked away, probably trying to make Soul as jealous as possible and snatched the closest guy to her and kissed him fiercely.

I rolled my eyes and found Soul doing the same.

But then he suddenly dropped his hands and pushed me away.

"Okay...I'm done with you." He crossed his arms.

Insulted, I glared at him.

"That's it?"

"Well did you want more?"

I twitched, noticeably flinching.

"Not in the least." I answered.

"Then if you don't mind then I'll-"

"SOUL MY BUDDY!" I could've heard Black Star a mile away so why did he half to be that loud when he was _right _next to us?

Soul and both jumped.

"Why aren't you getting it on with Maka eh?" Black Star slurred.

I was pretty sure the punch wasn't spiked. Black Star was just high off of sugar. He gulped down the cup of sticky orange substance when Tsubaki appeared behind him.

"B-Black Star!" She cried. "What are you saying?"

Soul and I sighed , walking closer to the two.

"He's had too much sugar." Tsubaki informed us, pointing at the pieces of candy in his hands and the bag of candy corn.

"NONSENSE!" He started to bounce off the walls literally. "YAHOO!"

"Aren't the teachers gonna like..." I mumbled. "Never mind. Where's Liz?"

Patty grabbed my shoulders from nowhere and pointed.

Liz

"I'm not going to dance in front of you!" I yelled at Kid, my face burning.

"But it shall help me write the story with more complexities and detailed descriptions." Kid whined, jumping up and down like a child. I would've said like a kid but...

I refused to agree to his request of dancing.

"Why don't _you_ dance?" I demanded.

Kid crossed his arms.

"I shall not engage in such actions."

"THEN WHY ARE YOU MAKING _ME_?" We both glared at each other and I was about to punch him when something caught my attention.

"Patty! Patty! Patty!"

Over in the center of the dance floor was Patty break dancing.

"What is my little sister doing?" I cried, grabbing my hair in frustration.

I clambered after her.

"Hey sis!" She greeted me, doing a little twirl.

"Patty Thompson!" I scolded. "Why are you break dancing in front of my school! You're not even old enough to go here."

And as I said that, I realized I was in the middle with her and people were going to start booing me out.

"C'mon!" Patty pulled me around and soon enough I was dancing like I was mad. Kid better be watching because I was about to do this again.

Then people started to join in and I realized we were all dancing except for Soul and Kid who were chilling on the bench next to the punch, awkwardly. The swarm of hot bodies was making me sweat too much for my liking.

Tsubaki

I don't know when we started dancing together but Black Star and I faced each other, jamming out to the tune that blared through the speakers. The song Roly Poly echoed through the hallway.

"Roly Poly...Roly roly poly..."

Black Star attempted a really poor interpretation of the can can while I tried to disco like in the real Roly Poly dance. Neither of us were very good...

I looked over and saw Maka trying to dance battle with Ox Ford. Maybe she was high off of punch too because from what I knew Ox was her rival and she couldn't dance very well. But her flexibility was incredible.

She stalked over to me.

"This is the most fun I've had since-" Maka stopped abruptly, her sweaty face turning pale. "Never mind."

"Soul's looking pretty jealous over there." Liz informed Maka from behind.

We all cast our glares towards Soul, who had his head turned away from the dance floor.

"That douche bag." Liz growled. "He _was _watching."

Maka just shrugged, pretending that she didn't care.

"Roly poly...roly roly poly!"

There was a pretty famous dance to this song and it was so cool when everyone did the dance move.

"I like, like this...I like, like that. I like this like that...yeah!"

We all took turns dancing down a a pathway of people. And it was really fun. At my old school there were never dances like these!

"Roly poly...roly roly poly!"

Maka

I don't know when Soul left or how I had found the strength to chase after him and leave the totally awesome dance but I did. I tore through the mass of sweaty bodies and sneaked through the gymnasium doors, the cool air of the hallway hitting me like icicles.

I wondered where he would go. Home maybe?

For fifteen minutes I searched the school ready to give up. He must've gone home but then I heard a sound of agony coming from the boys bathroom. I wasn't sure it was Soul because it could've been any guy but they sounded like they were really hurt.

I slid into the bathroom and found Soul standing there with his fist pushed halfway through the mirror, shattered glass around it. Streams of blood dripped around his knuckles and onto the floor and also stained what was left of the mirror.

"S-Soul-"

"What the fuck are you doing here?" He bellowed, glaring at me with darting red eyes.

Unwillingly, tears streamed down my face as I watched Soul hurt himself, twisting his fist farther, the glass turning into his flesh.

"S-Stop!" I commanded, frozen in my place.

Soul hardly looked at me and grunted with effort, trying to deepen his wound.

By instinct I ran up to him and grabbed his arm and tried to get him to stop.

"You're so lucky you're a girl," He growled. "Or I'd hit you."

Still surprised by his sudden change in cool, facade I responded, "Well why don't you?"

Soul squeezed his eyes, the blood staining his yellow jacket. "'Cause it's not cool to hit girls." He mumbled.

Soul

Maka suddenly wrapped her hands around my bleeding and aching fist and slowly but gently picked out pieces of the mirror.

"Stop." I hissed. "This _isn't _your goddamn problem."

She refused to listen and I tried to roughly nudge her off of me but she refused to budge as she diligently tried to heal my arm.

"Just let go, Flatlands!" I scowled, trying to insult her off of me. It wasn't really working.

"Shut up." She quietly mumbled. "Or a teacher will hear you."

In about twenty minutes she had all the pieces out and strolled to the other side of the bathroom. I thought she was finally going to leave me but she was just grabbing a paper towel. The girl walked to the sink and wet the paper towel down and then pressed it to my hand.

"Dammit.." I squinted one eye in pain.

"It's your fault." She whispered. "Why would you do such a thing?"

I rolled my eyes, at first doubting she would understand, but then remember our lives weren't so different.

"It's just...my parents." I remarked. "I wasn't trying to hurt myself but...I guess it ended that way." I looked at the broken mirror that was stained in blood.

She looked at it too and began to wipe the blood off with her bare hands.

"Stop..." I reached out and pulled her wrist away from the red stained mirror. "Just leave it." I didn't want her cleaning up that mess that wasn't hers.

"I don't think." She murmured. "That you want to go back?"

I shook my head.

"Do you?" I asked.

"No."

I sighed, not believing what I was about to say.

"I'll walk you home." I offered.

She looked at me like I was crazy and I didn't blame her. This was probably the nicest thing I said to her ever.

"Don't get the wrong idea." I replied. "It's pay back." I held up my bandaged hand that she had attended to and she nodded.

"I don't know about Tsubaki..." She said, looking back at the gym as we walked away. But I was sure that they were all still dancing so I wasn't about to go back and check on Tsubaki just for Maka.

There was an awkward silence between us as we walked down the dark empty streets on Halloween. We had long passed the streams of trick or treaters because we were getting into Maka's neighborhood which wasn't so nicely littered with children.

"Take a left." Maka directed as we got closer to her apartment complex. "It's right-"

She stopped dead in her tracks.

"Papa's home." She whispered, her father

Her father had deep red hair and wore a black suit. He had a girl by his side and his left arm was resting on her boob and hers on his dick.

"Well who's this punk?" Her dad pointed to me.

"P-Papa...that's just Soul.." Maka looked angry and scared.

The woman came to us and looked down on Maka.

"What a puny daughter you have there." She commented.

I was surprised when Maka cringed back closer to me and her dad did nothing. The woman returned to the red head's side and whispered something in his hear that delighted him while she stuck her hand down his pants.

I didn't know what came over me but I took my hand and covered Maka's eyes, guiding her away from the scene, not wanted her to see anything more. What had come over me? Was I being protective of ugly, old Maka? Oh fuck myself.


	13. Chapter 13

_One book in one year, written about your partner. Game on. Oh wait, they're writing about you too. [SoMa, TsuStar, KidLiz]  
><em>

_Rated M for Mature content_

_Genre: Romance, Suspense_

.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o._  
><em>

x ｆ ｉ ｃ ｔ ｉ ｏ ｎ x

Ｓ ｕ ｎ ｓ ｈ ｉ ｎ ｅ Ｇ ｉ ｒ ｌ ０ ９

Maka

Soul removed his hands from my eyes once we were out of earshot of my dad and his two new lady friends.

"Sorry." He quickly murmured.

"It's fine," I whispered back, as we walked to the market. My stomach growled. "Wanna get food instead?"

For the first time in a while, Soul smirked.

"There's one thing we agree on, Worm." He answered, taking the lead by taking a left.

"Worm?" I demanded.

"Yeah." He responded, taking another turn. "Short for book worm."

I rolled my eyes. It was better than flatlands.

While we walked though, I felt incredibly awkward in my big cape and scythe so I took off the cape, revealing my uniform and draped it over the weapon so I appeared less weird in a crowd of people.

"Where are you going?" I asked him as we got closer to the market.

"Unagi." He remarked.

I folded my arms, walking behind him. Eel. It was really good but also expensive. I wasn't in the mood to pay for expensive food but I was really hungry.

Soul stopped at a stand, followed by me.

"Hey Akira!" He greeted the chef who smiled in return.

"Yo, Soul, what up? What'll it be...this late?"

"Mmm...I'm thinking two eels over rice?" He looked at me as if he were going to ask my opinion.

"Girlfriend?" Akira motioned to me.

Soul was taking a sip of water, while sitting on a stool and nearly fell and spit out the contents in his mouth.

"God no!"

I slapped his arm taking the seat next to him angrily, smiling though.

"Partners..." I cut in.

Akira gave another grin.

"Nice," he said, turning to make our broiled unagi.

Soul

I was trying as hard as I could to be nice to Maka but she didn't seem as flustered as I thought she'd be over her dad. Was she really that used to it? The thought was sickening. I was also trying to hide my frustration with my parents and everything along with that and it was difficult but for some reason when I was around Maka it wasn't so hard.

Akira passed us our bowls of broiled unagi over steaming rice and it was appetizing.

Maka blankly stared at hers for a couple of seconds.

"Are you gonna-"

"Yes!" She cut me off smiling brightly. Well that wasn't going to fucking fool me either.

She picked up her chopsticks and ate.

"Itadakimasu!"

I started to eat also and it was a really good meal. Maka and I hardly spoke to each other either.

Finally, for the bill.

Maka sensed it to and pulled out her sorry wallet and looked at a few bills.

"I got it." Being rich did have its advantages.

"Thanks."

Being nice was too goddamn hard. So I thought it best not to speak.

When we walked up and started to leave we both felt an awkward tension. Where was Maka supposed to stay tonight? She was probably thinking she was going home but I don't think she wanted that. Neither did I.

"Do you need to go to Tsubaki's or anything?" I asked, trying to be cool by sticking my hands in my pockets.

"Well..." Maka pondered. "I want to but she always avoids having people come over."

"Ugh. Fuck." I groaned.

Maka looked at me, standing under the streetlamp, her tiny face illuminated.

"What?" She wondered.

"Where you going to sleep...home?" I inquired, trying to hide the concern.

"No...probably a park bench or something." She mumbled, avoiding eye contact.

How can she fucking say that say calmly?

"A goddamn park bench..._real _safe, Maka!" I spat at her.

She was surprised that I actually used her real name.

"Well where else...I don't have any other friends besides Tsubaki!"

I scoffed, removing my hands from my pockets and balling them into fists.

"Then what am I?" I demanded.

She blinked...taking a while to realize what I had just said.

"Would you...?"

"Hurry up and follow or I'll leave you behind." I threatened, turning on my heel and starting to leave. What the fuck was I getting myself into?

Tsubaki

If I had known Black Star would follow me home I'd never had gone home. And I knew he wasn't following me just because he was high off of sugar because he faked that so I'd think he'd lost his edge in stalking me. However, by now, as I was turning onto my street, it was too late to turn back. Actually it was extremely hard to detect he was following me at first, which was abnormal but a few minutes ago I saw a flash of blue hair go behind a tree along with footsteps.

I had to shake him somehow. I wasn't in the mood to let him meet my brother.

"Black Star. Come out."

Silence.

"I know you're there."

More silence.

"God dammit Black Star, get over here!" I bellowed, turning around, my head snapping in his direction.

Finally he gave up and came out.

"What gives Tsubaki...I almost succeeded!" Black Star complained, coming out from hiding and walking towards me.

"You can't follow me home!" I argued. "Seriously it's not funny."

"Tsubaki..." Black Star mumbled.

"Please just leave..." I said, hoping it was quick because I felt like crying. I really liked my partner and wanted to hang out with him instead of going home but I had to make the right choice. For Black Star's and my sake.

A tear streamed down my cheek.

"O-Okay!" Black Star remarked. "Just don't cry alright?"

He was freaking out at the sight of tears and backed away slowly.

Guys really didn't know what to do with a girl crying.

Good thing he was starting to leave too because my house was only a few houses away.

I turned and walked in the opposite direction towards my door, reaching it within a minute, inhaling deeply before entering.

"Where the fuck have you been?" My brother's spit touched my face. "You're late!"

I was trying to think about how to deal with him and explain before he raised his fist but it was too late. It was already in preparation for a punch.

"Fuck you, little sis."

_Crunch._

I felt little pain though. At first I thought maybe I was becoming immune to his abuse but when I opened my eyes I realized I was behind shielded by a short blue haired person who held my brother's fist in his hand.

"You better think twice before touching my friend." He growled.

Oh my god.

* * *

><p>Maka<p>

I cannot explain how awkward it was walking into Soul's house. It was incredibly large, mansion size and very dark. But that was because there weren't any lights on. His house was hard to explain. It seemed to have a dark humor about it that much reminded me of Soul. A little lolita style too.

"My family's asleep...so be quiet." Soul informed me.

I nodded silently, following him up some dark steps.

"Soul!" I spotted a piano while we walked up.

"Yeah? It's a piano so what?" He remarked.

"But you play..." I countered.

"And everyone in this house is sleeping." He replied, guiding me up the dark steps.

We got to his room and I awkwardly paused.

"I can just sleep right here." I pointed to the ground by the door.

Soul chuckled.

"Now a guy can't be that rude to a lady on a sleepover." He stepped towards me cornering me, coming close in the dark, allowing me to get his scent which was not in the least bit bad either.

I was getting nervous now. What had I gotten myself into?

"You know what I must do." He continued in a rough voice.

"W-What?" I stammered, feeling hot suddenly at his close proximity.

He stepped back and something hit me in the face.

"Give you a pillow of course. I'm not that mean." Soul flashed one of his signature toothy smirks.

My heart finally calmed down when I realized he wasn't going to rape me.

"And I'm not letting you sleep outside my damn door." He said. "Sorry how uncomfortable it may be but I'm not having my fucking mom walk down the hall in the morning and find a girl sleeping outside my door. The probably won't look good."

"Wouldn't she check on you in the morning?" I questioned.

"Tch. Hell no."

"Well that makes two of us."

I closed his door putting my stuff down and laying down his pillow, pulling my cape over me as a blanket. Soul just sat on his bed, hands on knees in deep that.

"Aren't you going to bed?" I asked.

"I don't really sleep." He answered, not looking at me.

"Gee," I responded. "Guess we really have more in common than I thought."

Soul laughed sarcastically.

"Yeah well I'd never thought I'd be having a nice little 'sleepover' with you."

As he said that I reminded myself that I was in a boys room. At night. WHAT THE FUCK? I of all people should know this doesn't end well.

Soul saw my uneasiness.

"Maka...I'm not going to hurt you."

There was a soft moment between the two of us and he quickly added, "Because sorry but no one would want to rape a person with a body like yours."

I made sure to throw some random object from the floor at him.

"Thanks..."

I don't think he understood that I really meant it though.

Soul

Maka fell asleep much faster than I expected. From what she said, I figured she'd be up all night, which would be awkward, but the fact that she was asleep in my room, trusting me to sleep in my room, was more awkward.

I could say she looked peaceful in her sleep but not really. Most of the time her face was twisted into a grimace or some look of discomfort. She seemed to be having nightmares and I started to wonder if that was normal.

Then I mentally slapped myself for caring so damn much.

There was a sense of calm that came over me though with her in the room and I felt like I was going to get a good nights sleep.

And I did.

Tsubaki

"You wanna fight!" Black Star challenged my brother. "I'll teach you to not hurt her again! Maybe I'll break a bone in your body for every bruise she's gotten from you, huh?" He narrowed his eyes.

"Don't fight!" I begged pulling him away from my brother, but they both ignored me and started to death glare each other.

They both raised their fists ready to punch each other.

"S-Stop!" I shrieked. Tears free falling from my eyelids. "Please."

"Wh-Why are you crying again?" Black Star stuttered, in the same situation once again.

I tried to wipe the saltwater away but it just kept coming.

"I don't want any fighting." I explained, water blinding me.

Black Star cast a look towards my brother then suddenly grabbed me by the arm and dragged me away.

"B-Black Star." I protested.

But we were already on my street, with my brother calling from the door frame, pissed as hell.

"He's making you cry...so we're going away." Black Star was blunt with his words.

But they warmed my heart.


	14. Chapter 14

_One book in one year, written about your partner. Game on. Oh wait, they're writing about you too. [SoMa, TsuStar, KidLiz]  
><em>

_Rated M for Mature content_

_Genre: Romance, Suspense_

.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o._  
><em>

x ｆ ｉ ｃ ｔ ｉ ｏ ｎ x

Ｓ ｕ ｎ ｓ ｈ ｉ ｎ ｅ Ｇ ｉ ｒ ｌ ０ ９

Maka

The awkward moment when you wake up first. Soul slept soundly on his bed. I was mighty tempted to blow horn him awake or something but I chose against such an action. It was a decision made considering the information I gathered to make an inference, assuming he really never slept. I couldn't really interpret how I really felt about him at the moment because I was so fussy over sitting on the floor waiting for Soul to wake up.

It was cold too. Not that his room was an abnormal temperature but it was that morning cold one always feels in the early morning. It was also probably because of the lack of covering of my body. My blanket had fallen off in the middle of the night.

However, I slept so well. Correction. I actually got to sleep. That was a big deal for me and thinking that this was a similar situation for my partner I was against waking him at- I glanced at my watch- 8:30 AM.

I also probably woke up first because I fell asleep first.

And then it hit me.

"Gah!" I squealed, leaping up, suddenly covering my mouth, glancing around nervously, hoping no one heard such a noise escape my mouth.

I fell asleep first. WHAT HAD SOUL DONE TO ME? Maybe there was a reason he was so tired...

"Get your mind out of the gutter!" I hissed under my breath, but still found the temptation to peer over Soul's bed to take a peek at his lifeless face. There was nothing abnormal about his appearance.

Maybe though, there was a reason that my blankets were off.

"THAT'S NOT IT!"

I slapped my mouth once more, watching Soul stir in his sleep, my eye twitching. That was close.

Still, curiosity won in the ferocious battle against logic and consumed my common sense, causing me to creep closer to the sleeping body. I tip toed and kept my hands held behind my back as if it were some kind of hand cuff or restraint that I needed in order to keep me from touching him.

That didn't sound wrong.

I leaned over, trying to examine him, for no reason in particular really. Just...curiosity.

And then his eyes slowly opened, red.

Soul

I awoke to green pearls in front of my eyes.

"Maka...the fuck..."

She jumped back.

"S-Sorry! I was trying to see if you were awake." She mumbled, stumbling backwards away from my bed.

I rubbed my eyes.

"It's not rocket science, Sherlock."

She didn't say anything but immediately moved to the other side of the room and started to pack up everything on the floor as quick as possible. She was really probably just trying to hide her red face.

Not that I really cared or anything. I was too tired to be bothered.

Instead I just yawned and glanced over at my alarm clock, jumping. It was past 8:30 AM. I never sleep that long. Ever. Something was definitely odd about this. I wasn't even that tired anyway. It was actually much less than normal.

"Are you hungry?" I questioned, rolling out of bed.

Maka was so busy that she nearly tripped over nothing, startled.

"U-um...a little, but-"

"It's okay." I answered. "My parents are probably gone somewhere."

Maka still looked uneasy.

"It's fine." I mumbled, stretching, scratching my head also. "I won't hold it against you or anything. Trust me. It doesn't get any more awkward than sleeping in the same room without anything happening."

I figured I had to slip that in there. I didn't blame her for fumbling around because I knew what she was thinking and it was only normal to assume I would do the normal perverted guy thing. But I didn't. That stuff is so fucking lame and uncool.

"Well...okay." Her voice was much more stable now.

Heh. I smirked. Maybe I knew a little more about girls than I thought.

I stuck my head out the door just in case my parents had a surprise piano party for me planned. But they were usually out every day of every week. Either doing their job or attending ridiculous parties that I refuse to attend. Wes was probably at some college study session. Something. All that I knew is I was normally alone on a weekend because my family was that fucked up.

"Come on." I led her down the stairs as if I were leading someone who was blind. I don't know why but I just didn't want my parents to pop up out of nowhere. I didn't really fancy them meeting Maka.

We arrived in the kitchen and I told her to pick out whatever the hell she wanted. I didn't know she would take it literally. In fact, she took out a bunch of ingredients and shit.

"What are you doing?" I grumbled, picking up the cereal I normally ate.

"Making a decent breakfast." Maka replied. "I live with only my father, independently mostly. So I cook."

Just as she started to grab a mixing bowl, her cell phone rang inside of her cloak that was lying on the table. She snatched it up, flipping it open and jabbering immediately.

"What do you want, Papa?" She demanded in a feisty tone.

"MAKAAAA! PAPAAAA IS SOOO SORRRRYYY! I WAS DRUNK! I'M SORRRYYY!" I could hear her idiot father wailing through the phone ten feet away. God. I don't know how she was able to forgive him...

Make finally reasoned with him and said she would come home immediately.

"BUT WHERE AAARE YOUUU?"

Maka hung up, roughly placing her phone back into the pocket of the cloak and turning back to the mixing bowl. I thought it best not to comment on the phone conversation, but something else.

"So what are you making?" I inquired.

"Pancakes."

"Oh..." I remarked, a flash back of begging my mom to make pancakes, her promising me she would, but going to a concert the next day instead.

"You're eating them too." She flashed me a grin. "Its repayment for letting me stay over."

"I said you didn't have to repay..." I muttered but she didn't listen and within the next fifteen minutes pancakes were sizzling on the griddle.

She expertly flipped them and got out plates, putting them on the table as if this were her own goddamn house.

And then she placed a stack, dictionary high, on my plate and filled my glass with milk.

"Here!" I was too nice to ask for her to get orange juice instead.

She sat done with me, a stack the same size and began to eat, making sure to drizzle syrup all over. It made me wonder if she really had anorexia. And if she did, how could she act so normal around food? From what I heard, people with anorexia still have slight scarring. But Maka showed no trace of such and devoured the pancakes.

"Are any of those for me?" The smooth voice of Wes caused me to drop my fork.

Maka turned to him.

"Sure!"

She responded so normally, as if she wasn't surprised, but when she turned her back to him and walked back towards the griddle she gave me a 'what the hell' look. I didn't know how to respond.

Wes looking over at Maka, attending to the new pancakes.

"It seems we have a new maid?" He wondered.

Tsubaki

Okay so tree trunks weren't the best thing to sleep against. Not only that but it was cold outside. I woke up almost immediately and then screamed softly realizing Black Stars arm was still draped around me, attempting to keep me warm.

At first he offered stripping and giving me all his clothes for a blanket but I kindly turned the offer down.

He told me that we absolutely could not go to his house. No matter what. We tried calling Soul too but he wasn't answering his phone. I wondered where he wondered off to and if he had been with Maka. I couldn't help but worry.

"B-Black Star!" I chattered and he shot up straight, rubbing his back in pain though.

"What did I miss?" He cried.

"Can we go somewhere to warm up...like a coffee shop?" I referred to the one two blocks away.

"Y-Yeah." He remarked, not even bothering to go on about how a god like him could never be freezing. "But...I got no money."

"It's fine." I assured him, getting up, my back aching in every possible place.

I led the way, Black Star following, as we crossed the street, stopping every other minute to stretch our back or warm our hands.

The wall of heat hit us like a tsunami when we walked into the warm colored coffee shop that had contemporary paintings all over the walls of coffee beans and tea leaves. A fresh scent of scones filled our noses as quickly as walking into a floral shop.

I walked to the register, rubbing my freezing hands together.

"I would like a large cappuccino, extra hot please, with caramel on top and a blueberry scone." I turned to Black Star allowing him to order.

"Okay! I WOULD LIKE-" He stopped suddenly, probably realizing he'd never ordered from a coffee shop before. "Whatever she had." He had a perplexed expression while examining the menu.

I paid and we gathered our drinks. Sitting by the fire.

Finally Black Star spoke, through chewing his scone.

"So has your brother always been like that?" He questioned.

"No." I remarked. "A while though."

"It's _not _okay." Black Star remarked. He suddenly spit out his coffee. "THIS IS NASTY!"

I promised him a hot chocolate instead after I finished my scone.

"No but seriously." Black Star wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. "This cannot go on."

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note: AHHHH! I'm SORRRY IT'S SHORT! Long update. I've got sooooo much homework and I'm not even exaggerating or anything. My first year of high school has finally hit me after the second half. Oh it's terrible. Some nights because of dance I got to school at 7:30 am and don't come back home until 10:00 pm and then I have hours of homework. T_T But I always update. So no one's gotta worryyy! XD Review cuz you're all my loves.<br>**


	15. Chapter 15

_One book in one year, written about your partner. Game on. Oh wait, they're writing about you too. [SoMa, TsuStar, KidLiz]  
><em>

_Rated M for Mature content_

_Genre: Romance, Suspense_

.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o._  
><em>

x ｆ ｉ ｃ ｔ ｉ ｏ ｎ x

Ｓ ｕ ｎ ｓ ｈ ｉ ｎ ｅ Ｇ ｉ ｒ ｌ ０ ９

Maka

Blood red eyes seemed to run in the family. Wes was just like his brother Soul. They were both very chill. And for some reason, I had the same reaction when I met Soul, a cold creeping sensation that was very uncomfortable and after I dished out a stack of pancakes for Wes, I found myself inching back towards my story partner, knowing a new chapter had to be written about a sibling. But there was something about Wes that I didn't like. Something that Soul had that he didn't. Was it integrity?

"Now tell me Soul, who's this cutie, huh?" Wes chirped up from his pancakes.

Soul looked at me and I mustered up my courage.

"My name is Maka Albarn." I announced, arms folded trying to keep a calm appearance, turning around to face Soul, still watching Wes out of the corner of my eye.

The edges of Wes' lips twitched in surprise, unfolding into a smirk as I picked up a glass of water.

"_The _Maka Albarn..." he murmured.

Water spluttered out of my mouth and I was thrown into a fit of violent coughs. What _was _he referring to? It couldn't be...

"Alright there?" He questioned.

I couldn't reply for a few moments, wondering why Soul had been silent the whole time, his eyes following my every movement.

"What do you mean '_the'_?" I inquired, full of curiosity.

There was no way. Wes couldn't have been implying _that,_ could he? I was put on edge feeling sweat trickle down the side of my head . I realized just how nervous I was around him and the current situation wasn't making anything any better. In fact, I really wished Soul would say something.

"Hmm? Nothing," Wes answered. "Your..._pancakes _are legendary." I bit my lip. "They make hunger fly away...just like a bird."

My eyes widened but I tried not to show my surprise.

_C'mon Soul. Some input now would help._

I noticed that I was shivering.

Wes got up causing me to jump.

"It's nice to finally meet you." He winked. "Thanks for the pancakes."

And like that, he was gone, up the stairs.

"Oi, Maka what's the matter?" Soul finally spoke when his brother was clear of the room.

I remained motionless. Just who _was _Soul's brother? Honestly. He knew. And he was referring to ninth grade.

"Hey...Maka!" Emotionless Soul actually looked concerned and he swiped his hand across my forehead and felt my temperature. "You're really warm...god dammit! Say something!"

Under normal circumstances, I would've been touched that Soul was being so caring but I was having a mental crisis.

"N-Nothing." I responded quickly. "Just a little tired."

Soul

I was actually worried about Maka. I could tell something that Wes said had obviously made her start acting like this. A couple of minutes ago she was happy happy fucking lucky monkey. So why the hell did she change? What had my brother said? I didn't know what it was but I was pissed at him for ruining her mood. Don't ask my why or when I started to become such a sissy but I wanted her to be happy for once and Wes wasn't making that happen.

God. I hated him.

"You should probably go." I told Maka. But I didn't want her to leave.

Maka nodded in agreement. But I didn't think she wanted to either. But she had to. I was going to actually start fucking liking her if we hung out too much. I also wanted her to get as far away from Wes as possible. My blood boiled ever time he looked at her.

Maka gathered her things from the Halloween party and began her departure out my door.

"Oi!" I called. "Know how to get back?"

She smirked at me.

"Of course I do." She said, pointing to her brain. "Genius remember?"

I rolled my eyes.

"More like idiot." I responded but waved goodbye nonetheless.

And when she left I felt empty. Fuck me for being so emotional.

I shuffled back upstairs to my room, locking myself in there and pulling out my torn notebook.

_But Maka Albarn wasn't that bad. She was a great cook in fact. Her pancakes were delicious and she even knew her way around the city. However the girl was still stupid. She didn't take care of herself or share her problems enough. Maka Albarn needed to learn to be a little selfish. She was so selfless that it almost got annoying feeling guilty for everything you said to her. But she wouldn't let that slow her down. She was used to keeping pain locked inside of her soul and she always picked herself back up._

I considered erasing everything I had just written but with sheer willpower I kept it and closed my eyes, leaning back and staring out my window.

Liz

Death the Kid had a nice ass house. But maybe I should back it up a little if you're confused. This is what happened this morning:

_"Patty! Will you hurry up?" I bellowed at my little sis while we wandered the market searching for cheap, edible, food._

_To be honest, we couldn't afford much but that didn't stop me from trying to buy fresh. I really hated that damn processed food. So nasty. Anything disgusting like processed food made me reproachful. I couldn't stand consuming anything unnatural. Not that my sister cared though. She ate crayons._

_"PATTY!" I growled. "PUT the DOG down."_

_My sister was making a stuffed animal out of the poor Dalmatian passing by. Its owner stood by horrified while Patty hugged the thing to death._

_"Huh? Okay sis!"_

_She clambered after me._

_"Do you have the cell phone?" I asked her, shifting a bag of groceries to my other arm._

_"Oh yeah." Patty reached through her puffy shorts. Her fingers went through holes in the pocket. "Uhh..."_

_I slapped my forehead for something so cliche happening._

_"Are you SERIOUS?" I demanded, not wanting to scare her, but fucking pissed because that cell phone was damn expensive._

_Patty bolted and went after her. We were obviously going to search for the missing cell phone. I was not about to pay for another one. Just getting the monthly bill was hard enough. I worked a job in the fish market but it was only part time and not very high paying. There was no way I was going to have my little sister start working just yet._

_"Has anyone seen a purple cell phone?" I cried, touching people's shoulders as I passed, trying to grab their attention._

_But most people just brushed me off._

_"Heartless bastards." I mumbled._

_We continued our search, running and scanning for the cell phone. But it was hard when you had a sister with ADHD constantly stopping every five seconds to look at the 'piiirty biiirds' or the 'fiiiishies in the tank'. Honestly I wondered if she had some sort of condition that need to be looked at._

_And it was in all this chaos he showed up, tapping my shoulder._

_"Such trouble you seem to be going through Liz?" Kid wondered, looking at me._

_"Look Kid, now's not the time." I sighed. "I lost my cell phone and need to get it._"

_"Come on." He moaned. "You can just buy another one, they're so cheap."_

_"WELL NOT FOR ME, KID!"_

And that's how he got the idea for me to move in with him. Oh dear.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note: CLIFFHANGERS GALORE! Ahaaa<strong> **sorry for not updating. I started writing this chapter then had to go on spring break without a laptop sooo yes. This is a short one but I hope it quenches a little bit. Not gonna lie. Had a pretty legit spring break in Florida. Not as fun as Aruba last year but it was pretty goood. All tan :) Sooo how do you like this? I bet you're ALL CURIOUS ABOUT NINTH GRADE! I decided to make that her hated year because I hate it. Its the grade I'm in now. Ughhh not fun. Anyways, review...thanks for reading!**


	16. Chapter 16

_One book in one year, written about your partner. Game on. Oh wait, they're writing about you too. [SoMa, TsuStar, KidLiz]  
><em>

_Rated M for Mature content_

_Genre: Romance, Suspense_

.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o._  
><em>

x ｆ ｉ ｃ ｔ ｉ ｏ ｎ x

Ｓ ｕ ｎ ｓ ｈ ｉ ｎ ｅ Ｇ ｉ ｒ ｌ ０ ９

Liz

"Kid...is this some sort of joke?" I groaned, holding Patty's hand as he guided us into his mansion that was most likely larger than the school.

"No Liz, I am perfectly serious." Kid informed me as he opened the large black door leading us across tiled floor in a great foyer.

"It's almost creepy. I'm _perfectly _fine in my apartment." I told him, stopping in my tracks.

The black haired kid turned to me in all seriousness.

"When my friend has terrible living conditions, I do my best to help." He said.

My stomach fluttered but the feeling was brought down when I realized what he had said. Terrible living conditions. Tch. What did he know?

"For all I know, you could be trying to rape me." I answered, still following him and tugging Patty along before she destroyed something.

"Such ideas aren't even in my vocabulary. Disgusting behavior it-" Kid halted, his fingers by his side twitching. "The fuck?" he growled.

I stopped behind him, glancing around at the black couches and silver skull statues that littered the foyer. It was dimly lit and the fact that the outdoors were completely dark didn't help light the room. So I couldn't really tell what the hell Kid was having a fit over.

"The...goddamn painting...is OFF by2.5 CENTIMETERS!" He bellowed.

I mentally slapped myself. I should've known it was the painting that was unnoticeabley tilted to the side. There was no way. I couldn't live in the same house as one of my classmates. The awkwardness. Especially Kid. Except I didn't believe my previous theory of rape. I didn't even think Kid had ever kissed anyone before. But people at school, if they found out? Definitely a scandal...right?

"I'm gonna die..." I mumbled.

Maka

That was a close one. I had never seen Wes before, but I had a slight feeling that I knew what he was referring to. Ninth grade. I couldn't let this get to me. I had to be strong but it didn't stop the tears rolling down my cheeks as I walked down the street to the market.

Realizing I was hungry, I stopped for Ramen, remembering I hadn't actually eaten any of the pancakes that _I _had made.

"Hey.." I greeted, taking a seat on the stool, wiping tears from my cheeks, waiting for someone to attend to me.

"What'll it be?" That man behind the counter asked.

The sun beat down heavily and it was already October. Strange weather.

"Pork bone Ramen, please." I ordered.

The gruff man smiled and disappeared behind the counter, leaving me alone with my own thoughts that I was even frightened of.

Scarring events flashed through my mind, scarring like Soul's cuts. I clutched my stomach, urging myself to stop in order to keep my appetite good but the thoughts wouldn't stop pouring, my bad memories flooding through my mind. Before I knew it, I was hunched over, shivering.

And I wanted to talk to Soul. He seemed like the only person to understand. But I pushed those thoughts away and tried to wait patiently for my Ramen but I couldn't allow my head to look up again and curled in the ball I stayed.

The amazing aroma of Ramen awakened my appetite and pulled me momentarily out of the dark pit of despair.

"Here ya go, little lady."

I pulled my wooden chopsticks apart and began to slurp the noodles, lonely. I felt lonely.

Though the warmth of the food was soothing and my stomach was return to its normal healthy state, I knew that I wasn't going to be sleeping tonight.

Liz

After the longest tour possible, which could've been shorter if Kid hadn't been fixing every slightly unsymmetrical thing in sight, I collapsed on one of the black, leather couches.

Patty plunked onto my lap, though there were many other spots to have comfortably sit. Of course she chose me.

"So Liz, Patty, there are approximately 26 master bedrooms to choose from and 16 smaller ones if you wish. However as you know now only 10 of those bedrooms have bathrooms and 5 have a bathroom with a jacuzzi. Would you like the take your pick?" Kid addressed my sister and I.

I tossed my head back.

"I never agreed to stay here, Kid. What about your dad?" I questioned.

"My dad's hardly home." Kid explained. "Besides he's the principal of the school, always willing to assist students in need."

I hated the way he worded that. With a passion.

"Kid I don't know..it's weird." I remarked.

"But big!" Patty added, spreading her arms, bouncing a few times, suffocating my legs. Sometimes I _had _to wonder how old she was...

"And there will be plenty of food. You don't have to worry about burdening me there." Kid offered, taking a seat and crossing his legs almost in a girly fashion.

That perked my ears. Food was always a concern when it came to my sister and I. I always wanted to feed her the best but had to balance it with what I could afford. Maybe staying with this spoiled, rich kid could have its advantages?

"Well...maybe a little while." I suggested. But just for the food.

"Splendid. Now I don't have to worry." Kid sprang up even though he had just sat down.

I started to really wonder if he would worry.

The logical part of my brain, which wasn't very big, was still arguing with the side that had agreed to stay here. A boy...staying with a BOY! Do you VALUE your virginity? A voice in my head screamed. I countered it with the theory that Kid was gay but a part of me begged to think that wasn't true...for some reason.

Tsubaki

You could see everything from the Ferris wheel. Black Star had his hand resting on my shoulder as he peered over the edge curiously. I couldn't believe he'd never been on one before and our day had just turned out to be one huge date. It started out as the coffee shop and now we were just going all over Death City.

I thought it'd be awkward but I was so relaxed when I was with him. It was like his presence was calming me down, which didn't really make sense because he wasn't a calm person.

"Yo Tsubaki." Black Star waved a hand in front of my face.

"Hmm?" I mumbled, hoping he wasn't going to address the issue about my brother.

"I'm hungry." He said.

"B-But you just ate!" My jaw dropped at his amazing ability to remain hungry no matter what food obstacles you threw in front of him.

"Yeah...is there some sort of way to climb down from this thing?" He scouted around the Ferris wheel as if plotting an escape route to food.

My eye twitched.

"No...Black Star! You're not climbing down." I argued with him.

He smirked looking back at me, the seat opposite of me.

"You just want me to stay right?" He suggest.

"Or maybe you'll die if you try to climb down." I informed him, taking note that we were at the highest point at the moment of the wheel.

"Or maybe you like me too much." Black Star's face was pulled into an arrogant smirk.

I frowned, trying to understand his tricky wording as he folded his muscular arms.

He leaned forward slightly so we were inches apart.

"Oh yeah?" I challenged, feeling adventurous. "Maybe it's the other way around."

"Hmmm." Black Star pondered over this. "Maybe it is."

"Wha-"

Before I knew it, he closed the space between us and his lips were against mine. My eyes were wide at first, taken by surprise but then I soon closed them and rested my hands on his shoulders so I wouldn't fall over from excitement. My English partner. Kissing me. And it was amazing.

Suddenly the Ferris wheel rocked and we both leaped back to our initial positions, realizing we were causing the compartment to rock. I couldn't help but release a giggle. This arrogant bastard wasn't too bad of a kisser, though I couldn't imagine him having a girlfriend ever before.

Maka

Papa was out of the house with his girls. I knew just by listening a block away. No squealing. So it was safe to go back.

I shuffled along to my house, my steps feeling heavy. I didn't know why I was so reluctant to go inside. Maybe it was because I had a pile of homework to attend to.

After entering my apartment, I stuffed the key into my pocket and sat down near my backpack that was on the floor, carelessly thrown the other day. I squatted down and took a seat, pulling out my pen and journal. It was time to write about the brother Wes. And it was time to fix Soul's character a little. I think I had misjudged him slightly.

_He was going through an unseen pain..._

I worked deep into the night because I had nothing better to do. What else was I to do anyway? My pre-calculus math homework remained untouched as did my chemistry assignment that was due before anything else but for some reason I didn't want to stop writing. I had gotten into a groove.

Getting up, stretching, I walked to the refrigerator and took out some orange juice, pouring myself an unnecessarily large glass then returning the carton to the fridge.

I took a sip of the cool substance, making an effort not to spill as I continued to write the story. There wasn't much of a plot to this either. But the more I wrote, the more addicted I got. It was something that you would read when really bored. Maybe if you just wanted a down to earth book. I couldn't really describe it.

Then I changed into my striped pajamas, combed my hair out and returned to my book. I knew I wasn't going to sleep so why not write all night? While writing, I hummed a tuneless song. It wasn't anything really. I knew nothing about music but still found ways to pretend I did. There was no rhythm either. But somehow the humming seemed fit.

Liz

I thought Kid had a big ass house. But he really had a big ass pantry. And he never should've told Patty to eat whatever she wanted.

She started to cook four packs of noodles simultaneously on the stove. I didn't care much but at least she chose four so Kid wouldn't cry over the uneven number. Then again, four written out in number form wasn't symmetrical. I imagined Kid telling her to double the number just so it was the symmetrical 8.

I sat at the kitchen table of one of the many kitchens consuming a really good pear. It was actually better than I thought too. Super fresh.

Patty almost over cooked the noodles, had I not urged her to turn the heat down only slightly. I probably saved the whole mansion from being burning down into an unsymmetrical pile of rubber.

Kid appeared in the kitchen in black sweats and a white tee. Hm. So it seemed that he wore things other than black suits and uniforms. It kinda looked good on him. Made him appear more casual. Or manly. Or hot. I stopped myself before continuing the crazy thoughts.

It's Kid...Kid...OCD Kid...I reminded myself.

"That smells slightly good." He told Patty, patting her on the head awkwardly.

I knew he was trying to release the tension but I still found it extremely weird staying here. I didn't think it was going to last a week. But at least I didn't have any parents to object against the decision I made. I was like the parent to Patty. I was all she had so being responsible and making the right choices was always hard for me but I was used to being the last resort for Patty.

It was even more awkward going to bed. I found a pile of unused toothbrushes in the bathroom and many pairs of pajamas of multiple sizes. I considered sleeping in a different room than Patty but we'd always slept in the same bed and she was attached to me.

Kid had said good night a while ago but hadn't said anything since. I wasn't about to go down ten flights of stairs to say good night again.

My sister's head was on my shoulder as we laid in bed. I stared at the ceiling blankly, wondering how I had gotten into this stupid mess. It was all so crazy right now so I urged myself to think of the good things. I had eaten a good meal. I had a decent place to sleep. My sister and I both.

Breathe in breathe out. It will be okay.

Soul

3:30 in the morning. I was still awake. No sleep at all. It's the worst fucking feeling being tired but not being able to sleep. Was it because of the nightmares? No. I just couldn't fall asleep. Or perhaps it was because I had gotten such a good sleep before. Maybe I just wasn't tired enough.

No that wasn't it.

But that was all because of Maka. Thinking of her, I wondered whether she was awake or asleep. We'd both confessed to each other that we'd had sleeping problems. Or maybe she was just trying to relate to me. I actually couldn't tell with her. She was the only person I couldn't read. Sometimes I liked it, the sense of mystery. But other times it pissed me off when I couldn't decipher her complex thoughts that were always so confusing.

She was different though.

Then I was suddenly triggered to write. Maybe if I started to write about her I'd be able to fall asleep.

I also wondered if she was thinking about me now...at 3:30 in the morning.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note: YAYYY! I updated! Lol. I'm gonna die studying for AP. After four hours I was just like screw this. Fanfiction time *heart* Hope you guys still stick with me! BLACK STAR AND TSUBAKI pwngpowanmgopwanmgpowGOPWM I LOVE THEM TOO MUCH! haha yeah. Sooo review pleeeease because I like to read reviews. Dance competition tomorrow. Ughhh. I'll read them right before my dance teacher tries to kill mehhh. <strong>


	17. Chapter 17

_One book in one year, written about your partner. Game on. Oh wait, they're writing about you too. [SoMa, TsuStar, KidLiz]  
><em>

_Rated M for Mature content_

_Genre: Romance, Suspense_

.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o._  
><em>

x ｆ ｉ ｃ ｔ ｉ ｏ ｎ x

Ｓ ｕ ｎ ｓ ｈ ｉ ｎ ｅ Ｇ ｉ ｒ ｌ ０ ９

Maka

It was already December. I shivered under my blanket, pulling my knees to my chest. My story was still being written. It was really going nowhere. I couldn't come up with a point for the whole thing. That was my problem when it came to writing things that were fictional. So unreal.

Black Star and Tsubaki had been going out for a month. At first I found it extremely weird but now I find it adorable and can't help but stare in awe whenever the two are together. It's nothing forced either. They're so natural with each other and can finish each others sentences. I'd admit I was a bit jealous. Not the fact that she was dating Black Star, but just the fact that she was dating. I wasn't desperate for boyfriend or anything but it seemed nice knowing someone else cared about you.

I sighed, glancing over at the clock that resided by my bed stand. 6:45 AM. I probably should've gotten up earlier.

My feet rolled over the side of the bed as I yawned, feeling the coldness touch the tips of my toes. The feeling of dread came upon me as I imagined going to school in the freezing weather. Ignoring all my reluctant thoughts, I gathered my backpack together and quickly slipped into my school uniform.

In the bathroom I looked at the mess of my hair and tried to force a stubborn brush through it. Of course my hair didn't agree with that at all so I just put it into a sloppy bun, forgetting about my normal, tight, neat pigtails that were on the top of my head usually.

I walked into the kitchen glancing into my dads bedroom, not surprised to find him passed out there. However, there were no girls with him so that was a first. In the kitchen I then drummed my fingers on the island while I contemplated food I could walk with.

Settling with a bag of cereal, I put my shoes on and headed out the door.

I shuffled along the frozen road, hugging myself with my tiny bag of cereal, attempting to eat it at the same time. Then something wet dripped on my forehead. It was snowing. Beautiful, big snowflakes fell from the sky and surrounded me and for a second I forgot about school, memorized by the beauty as the sun was just rising.

I sat at the bus stop, not wanting to walk all the way to school despite the cold. It was a public bus which meant I had to pay, exactly the reason I normally didn't ride it.

When the bus came, I climbed on and picked a seat in the middle. I sat down and pressed my forehead against the cool window, watching all the snowflakes flutter from the sky.

The school was freezing but I was used to that by now. It wasn't anything new. That was why I had a thick sweater in my locker to put over my uniform. I slipped it over my head and glanced to the side, seeing Black Star coming down the hallway with his arm around Tsubaki's waist. They were pretty cute. I thought it'd be awkward because he was shorter than she was but they pulled it off.

"Cute sweater, Maka!" Tsubaki greeted.

I nodded in response smiling. It was pretty cute.

"Thanks."

I yanked the stubborn books from my locker, slamming it shut.

"Geez.." I groaned at the effort I had to display just getting books from my damn locker.

"Sup Worm!" A familiar voice called.

"Sup Asshole!" I returned, spinning around and hi-fiving Soul then doing a fist bump. It was kinda signature now to do that. He had told me a few weeks ago that I was really uncool because I didn't know how to handshake or fist bump in a cool way. So he taught me the 'cool' way.

Black Star and Tsubaki just chuckled to themselves. It kinda seemed like they were in their own world but at the same time paying close attention.

"We should hurry so we're not late," Tsubaki suggested.

"A GOD LIKE ME COULD HAVE 3 SECONDS TO GET TO CLASS A MILE AWAY AND MAKE IT!" Black Star announced loudly for the hallway to hear.

I rolled my eyes, situating my books for Japanese lit. Tsubaki had a point though. The classroom was on the other side of the school and standing here wasn't moving it any closer to our lockers. Besides, Marie-sensei's class was our 'favorite'.

"MAKA! IF YOU'RE LATE YOUR ABSENCE WILL DROP YOUR GRADE!" Ox called from the end of the hallway, disappearing around the corner, eager to beat me to class. I wasn't so eager but frankly I didn't care because whatever the hell he just said wasn't true anyway.

"Bastard..." I mumbled.

Soul

I can't fucking deal with sentence structure. Or altered syntax. I thought that crap was only in English but it can apparently be applied to Japanese also. Even worse was reading a translated version of Romeo and Juliet. I heard it was hard in English so how the hell was anyone supposed to understand it in Japanese where the sentence structure was even more messed up?

Marie called it easy. I called it torture. So of course instead of paying attention I settled for throwing paper at Maka's head and watching her twitch dramatically every time it hit her. Of course her angered expression didn't stop me from continuing to throw things at her.

"Hey Maka!" I whispered.

Finally she turned around.

"What?" She hissed.

"Wanna hear a joke?" I questioned, my pencil poised as if I was actually writing down what Marie sensei was telling us to write.

"What?" She repeated, annoyed and probably just trying to get me to shut up.

"Women's rights." I smirked, knowing that pushed her buttons. Any sexist comment. It's not that I actually thought that way. But watching her snap her pencil in half over tiny, small comments from me was hilarious. She was such a little hothead and I was just too good at pissing her off.

She didn't respond anymore and turned back around pretending to ignore me.

"Yah! Soul!" Marie called. "You paying attention?"

"Of course," I remarked. "It's Maka I'm worried about. She seems to be struggling a bit over there." I motioned towards my blond hair partner, shaking with fury.

"Do you honestly think she's gonna believe you?" Maka demanded, folding her arms, still refusing to look at me and my huge smirk.

Ox leaned over, sitting next to Maka, probably intrigued that she was struggling with something (even though she really wasn't).

"Oy Maka?" He inquired. "Struggling? Don't let your grades drop so I _beat _you." He taunted.

Maka fiercely turned to look at him.

"Ox, my grades could probably drop and I would _still _beat you!" She retorted.

Everyone in the classroom got a hoot out of Maka's comeback and I sat in my seat in admiration. I didn't know someone could be as mad as her and still come up with a coherent comeback that made perfect sense and seemed to hit the point of the whole joke.

"Alright everyone be quiet and let's get back to Iambic Pentameter." Marie said clapping her hands a few times to gather everyone's attention.

While we were still doing the lesson, Marie tapped her pencil to the poem to try to symbolize the iambic pentameter. I considered tapping my pencil to a completely irrelevant beat just to make Maka even more mad but I figured she'd had enough harassment for the day.

Or class.

It was like a game that we played. It was pretty damn hard to not mess with her. Like a daily routine that was like us relaxing.

Liz

Marie told us to get in our story groups. She gave us ten minutes at the end of class each day to brainstorm and write with our partners. It's not like I needed it considering I lived with my partner. I wouldn't lie, within the first month I tried walking out of Kid's mansion several times, planning on not coming back but at least a few days later I returned. And it took a while to realize that the place was growing on me.

"Liz you _cannot _write like that!" Kid complained. "I don't really look like that! I really don't!"

I rolled my eyes at the damn baby who was peeking at my paper.

"You're not supposed to look." I argued. "It's bad luck I think."

My threat made him sit in his seat calmly.

"Fine Liz." Kid agreed. "I'll just add some extra fat to your belly." He informed me, taking out his pencil to erase and fill in this extra description in his story.

"NO!" I cried, the thought agonizing. "Don't do it Kid!"

He smirked knowing he had sovereignty over me. Damn that kid. Pun intended.

"Well I won't make you symmetrical food for dinner." I protested.

Kid's eye twitched as he tried to not let his OCD take over but it was becoming increasingly difficult especially with my grin on my face and the fact that I totally would do something like that despite all of his protests. But I would end up having to comfort him later anyway though so maybe there really was not point.

"That's horrible, Liz!" Kid cried flinging his arms in the air. "Damn you smart woman! I won't change the description of you just _please _make the shape of the peas on my plate symmetrical! The thought disgusts me! Absolutely horrible! I cannot deal with it!"

I sighed. Who's the winner now?

Maka

"Maka, that doesn't even make sense..." Soul informed me.

"Yes it does." I said, writing down the sentence on a piece of paper.

"You've got no idea what you're talking about." He mumbled.

"God...you're such an-"

"Arrogant bastard?" Soul suggested, finishing my sentence for the umpteenth time.

"I was going to say jerk but that's right on target." I answered, leaning on the desk putting my head down, tired. The cold weather often did this to me. I felt like such a mess right now. The only time I enjoyed myself was when I was with my friends. But I already dreaded having to go back home today. I'd probably spend Christmas alone too. My head didn't go back up for five minutes until Soul poked it.

"Oy...don't die..." He said in all seriousness but even with my head in my arms I knew he was smirking. This is what I got for spending so much time with him.

My head rolled up and suddenly I was looking at Soul's face and he wasn't grinning at all.

"Your eyes..." He said to me.

And I realized they were watering a lot. Immediately I wiped them.

"Ahh sorry allergies." I mumbled. "Such a pain."

"Maka it's winter." Soul countered.

Shit.

"I knew that.." I answered, shaking my head, waking up from my five minute nap. Such troublesome stuff.

Before Soul could interrogate me further, Death the Kid stood in the front of the room, addressing the class.

"Attention students." He said. "I have a special announcement regarding highly important issues."

Everyone froze, waiting for some bad news to sink in.

"There is a Christmas party."

And everyone fell on their desks in surprise.

"OY! YOU REALLY HAD ME WORRIED THERE!" Someone complained.

"The date is on the 25th of December and-"

"Really?" Another obnoxious person called out from the back.

Kid cleared his throat, obviously annoyed.

"At my house. Food is provided but you may bring a dish if it is desired." He continued while Marie-sensei rolled her eyes at him, mockingly.

Watching him give his little speech actually was rather funny and amusing considering he was so serious while the crowd was just laughing at him. Of course we were all going to go though. The moment he mentioned food it seemed the attention in the room piqued.

Soul annoyingly started to drum his fingers on my desk. He knew this pissed me off. Actually, he could right an entire book with descriptive chapters on how to piss me off. Honestly. In depth detail on how much each thing made me cringe.

I suddenly laughed to myself at the thought of him writing a book about me. Already in the process. But that was okay because I also knew what pissed _him_ off.

Tsubaki

That weekend I was surprised I had gotten Maka _and _Liz to both come shopping with me. They both found it extremely unnecessary to have to buy dresses for one party, a Christmas party at that. I just wanted an excuse to go shopping and bond. Neither Maka and I knew Liz _too _well. I knew her better than Maka did though.

"Isn't it a _bad _idea to eat right before you try on dresses?" Liz suggested. Maka and I both shrugged. Food came first on our list.

We stepped up to a Chinese place in the food court of the Death City mall. So much food. Maka and I treated it like a war. You had to have on your game face. It was a battle to eat all the food, to win. Or at least that's what she said. You became a warrior the moment you picked those chopsticks up.

"Guys I can't eat all this." Liz complained, looking at the mountain of the sodium soaked, delicious and savory Chinese food that was piled high in the middle of our table.

"That's what they all say at first." Maka informed her, breaking apart her chopsticks. "ITADAKIMASU!"

And then she devoured all the food in front of her, so fast I felt like I was losing. My quiet personality almost restrained me from eating like a pig in public but being the nerdy girl I was. I had a desire to win no matter what contest.

And by the end, Liz ate the most.

"Ughh...I feel fat.." She groaned. "Now I wish I let Patty come along. She would've eat some of that.."

Liz bent over but restrained from puking in public.

"Time to shop." Maka sighed, probably still not understanding why we were shopping for one party.

We searched for dresses that were Christmas related but there weren't very many, even though there was a week until Christmas. Such a shame.

"Hey guys look at this." I said, touching a red silk dress.

It was strapless, silky red and had a ribbon around the waist with a rose. Then the dress poofed out into ruffles as it went down. Absolutely gorgeous.

"Mind matching?" Maka questioned, feeling the silk.

We hi-fived each other.

"It'll be like we're bridesmaids!"

Liz rolled her eyes but she looked like she kind of wanted the dress.

"But I don't like the ruffles-" she started to protest then trailed off, her head leaning back. She spotted something. It was the exact same dress except no ruffles and it was shorter, more like a mini skirt length.

Liz bounded over, hugging it with her might.

We couldn't afford to buy them...at all. But we could afford to rent them. I didn't like the idea of wearing it once and then having to return but that was life.

Maka

Now what was left was buying presents. We wanted to stick together but that would required allowing others to see what we were buying each other. And that could not happen.

The girls were pretty easy to get things for. Tsubaki was always wearing makeup. She never wore it extremely heavy but I could tell she liked it so I bought her an eyeshadow kit that was pretty inexpensive but there were a hundred colors that came with the set. As for her boyfriend, I purchased, for Black Star, a sweat band that had a star on it. It was a pretty lucky find because the other ones had hearts and crap on them. Liz was tougher because I didn't know her as much but I had caught her drawing in the library once so I bought her a sketchbook and set of pencils.

Now Kid was a new story. What the heck was I supposed to get him? I knew he had an OCD with symmetry and that was about it. But the stripes on his forehead...the fuck...and that's when it came to me. Black hair dye. Just in case he felt self conscious the hair dye would surely make the stripes go away for a little while. My plan for him was surely not flawless and it could start a temper tantrum.

Soul was even harder. I knew things he liked and hated. However if I bought him something piano related I figured heads would roll so...what was I supposed to do? I ended up buying him a $15 gift card to a music shop in the mall. Surely I wouldn't get beaten for that.

But then I started to wonder around looking for Tsubaki and Liz. Tsubaki wasn't answering her cell phone, which was annoying because she always yelled at me for not answering my phone and here she was not answering her own phone.

It was getting late and I figured the heck with it why don't I just go home? But I remembered Tsubaki and Liz. It wasn't that big of a mall so I didn't think they would get lost. Or maybe they were looking for me while I was looking for them? Or maybe they weren't even together and we were all looking for each other...real smart.

The more I wandered though, the more tired I got. It was almost 10 pm and the mall closed at eleven. I would _have _to leave. But what if they weren't even here? Ugh. That would've probably brought out the Maka chop.

Exhausted, I took a seat on the bench around the corner of the ice cream shop, secluded from the rest of the shops.

"Hey there little lady." A voice greeted, but it was unfamiliar.

A man I had never met sat by me on the bench.

Instinctively, I scooted a little farther away from him, wanting my personal space because he was a stranger.

"Awww come on." He complained. "That's not very polite."

"I'm sorry sir but do I know you?" I was trying to keep my manners but felt very disturbed.

He scooted closer to me. I was near the edge of the bench and my only option was to get up. So I slid my feet forward, ready to get out of the seat but he pulled me back down. I tried to shake off his unwelcome grip from my shoulder.

"Stay with me a little, babe."

I was now ready to bring out my inner karate moves I had acquired from last year because this was matching my flashbacks too much for my liking. There was no need for the past to be repeated.

"I have to go now." I told him, trying to free myself from his clutch.

"Nahh. You're gonna stay with me."

My chest rose rapidly in panic. He was too old to be connected with anyone from ninth grade...so why? He acted so...

"Please just-"

I was interrupted by a third person taking a seat in between us. A familiar scent filled my nose.

Soul.

A smile was brought to my face. Savior.

He sat between us comfortably.

"Well hello Maka," he said. "Have you introduced me to your friend?" Soul didn't wait for the unknown man to respond. "No? Well sorry sir, it's too late, she needs to get home."

Soul stood up from the bench, his signature smirk on his face, that toothy grin. He grabbed my elbow as we strutted away.

"Maka..." he mumbled. "Why are you walking around the mall by yourself?"

I sniffled my nose, feeling a cold come along. Great.

"Well I was shopping for gifts... how'd you know I was here?" I remarked as we walked at a swift pace.

"Tsubaki didn't have her cell phone so she gave Liz my number and they called for an extra person to search for you." Soul responded, turning a corner to another brightly lit part of the mall where streams of lights hung from the ceiling like diamonds.

"And you willing_ly _came?" I inquired.

"Just...shut the hell up." Soul growled.

I raised my eyebrows, interest piqued. Someone was worried.

"Don't be so mad." I told him. "Because I got you a present!"

Soul's toothy smirk returned to his face at that thought.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note: What's this? A QUICK update. It shouldn't happen but it did. And an extra long chapter. Why am I like this? I don't know..so bipolar. Had a dance competition today. I'm inspired to write because I was looking back at my old stories with all the long chapters...over the summer I would update every day with chapters as long as this. It was pretty epic;) can't wait for the summer when school will be out...no AP homework. So yes. Its farther into the year and Maka and Soul are becoming great friends. I might update again this week because I'm feeling pretty spiffy XD But yeah I go to chicago not this wednesday but next one for school. Gonna be epic. Sooo yeah. Review. This doesn't happen often. Two chapters within two days and one is super long...:D<strong>**  
><strong>


	18. Chapter 18

_One book in one year, written about your partner. Game on. Oh wait, they're writing about you too. [SoMa, TsuStar, KidLiz]  
><em>

_Rated M for Mature content_

_Genre: Romance, Suspense_

.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o._  
><em>

x ｆ ｉ ｃ ｔ ｉ ｏ ｎ x

Ｓ ｕ ｎ ｓ ｈ ｉ ｎ ｅ Ｇ ｉ ｒ ｌ ０ ９

Maka

A week after my incident at the mall, in which I was lectured many times by many people including my father( something amazing, considering he put aside fucking a girl for once), I was preparing for the Christmas party. Tsubaki insisted that we all hang out to get ready. However, Tsubaki and I both refused it to be at our houses so we found ourselves arriving at Kid's mansion early.

His house was amazing. It reminded me of Soul's house except this one had more of a skull theme than lolita. It was creepy but very cool at the same time. I thought it would be a little more suited for a Halloween party instead. I was more concerned with Kid's dad than is house though. I knew he was the principal of the school but I had never actually seen him before. Apparently, he was elusive.

"Come on..." Liz guided us up numerous flights of stairs that were questionably onyx marble. I wasn't exactly sure but they were pretty cool too. Actually Kid's whole house reminded me of him. Very chill except there was the extremely meticulous symmetry which also reflected Kid. Even I could see this and I didn't know him very well. However, I was a very good personality reader anyway. Which is why when I first met Soul I hated him so much.

But I had a grip on him now. A twisted and sarcastic personality along with a tough exterior that protected the caring side of him. He couldn't hide it from everyone.

"Hey guys!" Liz's sister Patty bounded out of their bedroom, greeting us with pleasure.

Liz gave Patty a salute as we headed for the bathroom. While walking, Tsubaki and I slipped out our dresses from the garment bags, entering the black tiled bathroom with mirrors everywhere you looked. It was a little intimidating. I felt bad for any person extremely self conscious about their body. One might think that was me, with my eating disorder last year, but that was unrelated to how I thought about my appearance and was connected to something more serious that the average person could comprehend.

"Maka..." Tsubaki kindly started. "You must let me take over your hair and makeup."

I should've been a little insulted that she told me this but I frankly didn't care. I did want to appear pretty. I didn't want to stand out but I already knew that wasn't going to happen while Tsubaki and Liz were here but I did want to appear better than my average look that I sported every day at school. Spice it up.

We changed into our dresses and one of the girls lent me a strapless sports bra, not that I really needed it that much, but it felt better even with my flat lands. And here I was using Soul's nicknames on myself. I really needed to stop hanging out with him before I started to grow pointy teeth and acquire silver hair.

And then Tsubaki pulled out a curler from one of the drawers of the bathroom. How did she even know that was there? It wasn't like this was her house or anything.

Liz handed her a spray from my hair to make sure the heat didn't damage it. I thought you had to straighten/curl hair every day for it to be like that. I didn't have a curling iron and home and didn't need to ever straighten my hair because it was naturally stick straight so I didn't think using a curler once would really affect it.

Patty watched in the background in awe while at the same time she drew pictures. Out of the corner of my eye, I clearly saw that she was watching us and drawing at the same time. Did she not know where she was drawing? For some reason it wouldn't surprise me if she didn't.

While I was busy trying not to laugh at Patty's awful drawing of a blue and pink elephant, Tsubaki curled my hair into wonderful loops that cascaded down to my back, folding within each other. For the first time, my hair actually looked decent. Along with the spray they put on it, it appeared more golden and shiny like those hair commercials that left people throwing things at the television screaming "LIES!" at the dramatization of the good looking hair, which was even announced in tiny print at the bottom of the screen '_Dramatization'._

When Tsubaki was nearly finished, Liz pulled out a makeup kit of hers.

"Here, hun. Turn." She commanded.

I turned towards Liz, feeling like she was my big sister. She applied silver eyeshadow, eyeliner and mascara to make my lashes look luscious and full of volume. It was more of an optical illusion than reality but who really cared as long as it looked great.

The two girls finished and stepped back to admire their work. Truly amazing.

Tsubaki

I wasn't going to lie, I was truly proud of my work on Maka's hair. I knew I'd never get mine to look that good but I ended up placing it in a side ponytail and curling that. The different pieces ended up curling together into one large twist. I didn't expect it and was happy that it didn't look half as bad as I thought it would turn out.

My makeup was done the same as normal, lots of blueish silver eyeshadow however this time I extended my eyeliner to form a cat eye look, Liz's suggestion. It turned out that I liked it much better than my hair and it was the highlight of how I looked. The dress was okay but I hated my body. I wished I was skinny with less boobs. I didn't like to appear like a stereotypical slut, something that I was definitely not. I was more of a peacemaker than anything and didn't take kindly to undeserved titles.

Liz, I thought, looked absolutely gorgeous. She constantly complained about her hideous appearance, as did all girls, but she really cleaned up well. In fact, out of the three of us she definitely looked the most grown up. With her hair in a very loose side braid, she looked the most natural, even with thick makeup. She clashed casual with diva and it worked out so well for her that I was a little jealous, but I reminded myself that only a look like that fit with her.

We found our way downstairs in order to see the first guests. It seemed that Black Star had arrived first. I had heard his shouting.

"YAHOO! FIRST! I BEAT EVERYONE! LIKE A GOD!" He called. "No where's my girl? I wasn't allowed to pick her up!"

He bounded around searching for me and for a moment I just sat on the balcony, watching him in the foyer make a fool out of himself, laughing silently to myself, wondering how I had gotten such a unique and crazy but caring boyfriend.

I took dainty steps down the stairs waiting for the wave-

"TSUBAKIII!" Black Star, like a tornado, swarmed to greet me at the bottom of the steps.

I looked at his disheveled suit that he had clearly gone through hard work to acquire. The tie was very loose, as was the jacket, pants and shoes, which were oversized. I could've cared less though because this appearance suited him best and any other would've been too weird and not as cute.

But I had to thank him though. I wouldn't have been able to be wearing this dress if it weren't for him calling my brother. Now my brother just ignored me, but at least all the bruises healed so I could finally wear something that was short sleeved.

Black Star put his arm around my shoulder and immediately, of course, guided me to the food where he encouraged pigging out.

Maka

Soul was second to arrive after Black Star. But unlike Black Star, his suit was neat and he found it necessary to adjust his tie every five seconds as if it would add to his coolness. I didn't think that was necessary though. I hated to admit it, but he looked pretty good. And by pretty good I mean really good. His black and grey pinstriped suit added to his mysteriousness and the blood red dress shirt underneath matched his eyes, pools of shades of crimson.

"Looks like someone finally figured out that hair wasn't allows worn in freaking pigtails." Soul addressed me and I didn't even realize, feeling immediately embarrassed, wondering if I had been awkwardly staring at him excessively.

"Uhh...Tsubaki's idea." I mumbled. "Shut up Asshole."

"Right back at you Wormie." Soul remarked, holding up his hand into a hi-hive, returned by my hand and followed by a fist bump. "So how lamely early did you arrive?" Soul questioned.

I smacked him in the arm. Bastard.

"I got ready here. That's why I'm here early. Black Star is the one who really arrived early." I informed Soul.

He chuckled, a sadistic guffaw that was beginning to grow on me.

"He just wants to see his girlfriend, that lover boy." Soul theorized, setting a chain reaction of smiles from me to him.

"Alright, as much as I'd love to talk about how much I hate you," Lie. "Let's go get some food." I announced, feeling my stomach growl, realizing that I hadn't eaten anything in hopes of being able to fit perfectly into my dress. It's too bad that I didn't remember the fact that when I tried it on at the store it fit with a whole stomach full of food.

"Something we agree on." Soul commented.

"Miracle." I added.

He smirked, pointing ahead of him with his arms.

"Ladies go first." But then he stopped me with his arm. "That excludes you, Maka."

Another hit in the arm. Too bad I didn't have any books on me. That was more Maka chop worth than just a small slap. I'd get him later.

"Are you saying that _you _should go first then?" I implied. "Okay, _lady_."

He pushed my bare back, giving me shivers, urging me toward the buffet table. An increased amount of food was there since we first started our conversation because many more people had arrived, including Ox Ford and the twins. And Kilik. Plus many more classmates. Even Stein was here and it was rumored Marie0-sensei was planning on coming.

"Weak." Soul told me, observing my plate.

"Since when was this an eating contest?" I wondered, an eyebrow raised, adding extra chicken onto my plate now trying to make it fuller. Well now it was a competition because Soul had declared it secretly just by saying that. The two of us...always competing...

"It's always a competition." Soul remarked reading my mind and he stuff half of a potato in his mouth. He mumbled something else but all I heard were the muffled sounds of mushing potato.

Rolling my eyes, I stuffed four pieces of broccoli into my mouth. But before I even got to chew I was thrown into a fit of wild coughs that had nothing to do with the food in my mouth. I knew this for a fact but Soul didn't and he took amusement out of watching my suffer but even when the broccoli was all gone I was still hacking like an old man with bronchitis.

"Swallowed it wrong?" Soul joked, but a little confused at my dramatization.

I held on to my throat. It was scratchy.

"I hadn't even started to chew yet." I complained. "Weird."

Soul shrugged.

"Just afraid to admit your loss." He answered.

I smeared some jam from my bread on his nose, distaste towards his insensitive attitude.

"Tch. Fucking Worm." He glared at me.

"Tch. Insensitive Asshole." I returned.

And then we returned to eating. The double chocolate cake was exceptionally good and I found that the flavors perfectly blended together in a melt of delicious sugary taste. It soothed not only my dire taste buds and sweet tooth by my itchy throat that was still suffering from my cough attack.

For the next hour Soul and I talked and we mingled with others. We even tried to badly dance with Black Star and Tsubaki, failing miserably. Tsubaki, I think, was just naturally good at body rolls. The only thing Soul could do was snap with the beat. Not much skill there. Then again, I shouldn't have been the one talking, considering that I had a lack of skill for anything involving dance and music.

Soul

I had planned on looking for the bathroom but along the way I found a beautiful, black grand piano stowed away from the rest of the world that seemed to reside in the house. The keys seemed to have never been touched before but when I tested out one of the A notes it was perfectly in tune and there was no dust residing on my fingertips after touching the pearly white key.

Taking in the scent of the piano, I sat on the bench. No one else believed me when I said that the piano had a scent, but it did. Only a composer would know. I'd written so many songs for the piano that I couldn't even keep track of them. Most of them didn't even have titles they were just dark, twisted melodies that had found their way into my brain, either through depression or just random expression of what was deep inside of me, built up over ages.

Even after playing a few notes, a smirk rose to my face. Oh how I missed playing to piano. It was dark now too and there seemed to be no one else around, the perfect place to play.

But as I started to play the first few soft notes of a song, footsteps halted my playing, causing me to turn with a perplexed look.

Who the _fuck _was interrupting my playing?

"Soul!" And it was Maka and I no longer felt angry, but decided not to show it.

"What are you, a goddamn stalker?" I questioned.

She wrinkled her nose, already too use to my insults. I kind of felt bad about that but also relieved that I didn't have to show a soft side to let her know I really didn't hate her.

"I just heard the piano playing and thought it was you..." Maka trailed off, taking a seat next to me, causing me to flinch. "Don't know why." She finally continued. "It isn't unlikely that there aren't other piano players. And it's not like I'd ever heard you play."

She looked at me with those innocent, so fucking innocent, green orbs that were pools of water to drown in and I knew what she wanted and I was going to give it to her.

"Well would you like to?" I inquired, flashing a pointy smile.

"W-Would you really?" She stammered clapping with excitement.

I rolled my eyes at her overreaction to my statement. It's not like it's the greatest thing in the world, is it?

"Just this once, got that?" I made clear I didn't want to play in front of her again. Which I was unsure about. Maybe, maybe not. It was all about the time and place.

"Yeah..." She mumbled, disappointed.

I tried to decided what to play for her. I considered a dark, twisted piece which was what I normally played for people, like a forewarning when I met them that said '_this is the kind of person I am'_ but Maka knew who I was. And I didn't want her to feel uncomfortable at the party for once, because if I was only playing for her _once _why not make it a nice performance?

"I've got a good song." I finally concluded after a half a minute of thought.

"Ohhh does it have lyrics?" Maka inquired.

"I'm a fucking piano player," I reminded her. "Not a singer."

She folded her arms.

"But there are lyrics." I added, feeling the need to lie was not necessary.

"Will you sing them?" She asked, looking at me again with those green eyes.

I rolled my eyes once more.

"Did you not hear what I just told you?" I demanded.

She blankly stared at me as if asking '_did you really just ask me that?'_.

"Ugh, fine." I complied. "I will sing the chorus for you." I was becoming a slave to a woman now. Great. So uncool.

Maka situated herself so she was closer to me as if that would help her hear the music more. I didn't think it would but I wasn't minding the closeness as much as I'd like to say that I was.

I played a couple of practice notes to remind my self of the tricky key, all flats but F. B flat, E flat, A flat, D flat, G flat, C flat...

The song was called Haru Haru. It was originally in Korean by a Korean band but has been translated into Japanese by the band when they promoted in Japan. I happened to be also performing in one of the big concert events at the same time as they were (back when my mom had control over me) and I happened to like that song a lot.

**A/N: http: / /www . youtube . com /watch?v =uDwhr2X8u5E Remove spaces to listen to song. Remember he's only singing chorus. This is Korean version, message me if you want Japanese.**

And then I played. The extremely sad beginning notes flowing beautifully. It'd been a while since I'd played the song and I could tell Maka was intently listening. Knowing her well, I had acquired the knowledge that she didn't understand music very well and I could tell she was trying really hard.

Now the chorus. I had a rough voices, not meant for singing but because I was a composer and piano player, I could sing in tune without sounding like a total dumbass.

"Dore dake no kigasuki  
>Konnanimo kimi wo omoi<br>Mou kokoro kowarete shimae  
>Ni dottoaenai no nara<p>

Maka seemed to melt with the lyrics as they were sung gruffly.

Kimi no kage ga fumisuru  
>Tsuki akari gaki neite<br>Kimi yo shiawase ni nare  
>Haru haru<br>Ano sora e, eh, eh, eh"

I felt her shake a little next to me.

"Oh Girl, I cry cry  
>You're my all<br>Say Goodbye"

Maka was totally engaged in the moment and I knew that there were some things she did understand about music.

It felt so good to be playing to piano again, especially a song that I liked a lot.

After the second chorus I realized that her shaking was because she was cold.

"Oh Girl, I cry cry  
>You're my all<br>Say Goodbye

Those were tears.

Oh Girl, I cry cry  
>You're my all<br>Say Goodbye"

Maka's shaking and the wonderful finish of the sad song were both factors that played into my next decision. But there was really no logic in what I decided to do.

I wanted her to stop crying. So I kissed her.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note: YOU CAN'T CALL ME EVIL! Because I did like 3 chapters in 4 days, 2 long. Okay. I'm kind of addicted to this story right now. Obviously because I'm doing this instead of AP homework on a school night at midnight. When I'm taking the final exam at the end of the year I'm going to get a question about the different types of diffusion and instead of talking about the three types of expansion diffusion and relocation diffusion I'm gonna say something like Soul's piano playing soooo. Review ...question mark? LISTEN TO THE SONG BTW. It's amazing. Oh and look up the non acoustic version cuz that's the best too.<strong>


	19. Chapter 19

_One book in one year, written about your partner. Game on. Oh wait, they're writing about you too. [SoMa, TsuStar, KidLiz]  
><em>

_Rated M for Mature content_

_Genre: Romance, Suspense_

.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o._  
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x ｆ ｉ ｃ ｔ ｉ ｏ ｎ x

Ｓ ｕ ｎ ｓ ｈ ｉ ｎ ｅ Ｇ ｉ ｒ ｌ ０ ９

Soul

Before even considering that fact that I was crazy, I thought about something else. I figured that would have probably been that flat-chested girl's first kiss. I mean, come one, who the fuck would wanna kiss her...besides me? But that definitely was _not._ She seemed to have experience. The fuck...

Then I realized how crazy I was. Or how crazily I was enjoying it.

Her lips tasted like faint strawberries and my fingers were curled into her tangled mess of hair which meant I was probably getting slapped later for messing it up. Oh well. Worth it.

"Well, you two look acquainted."

Suddenly we broke apart, Stein's voice stopping the moment.

"S-STEIN!" We both stammered.

"Technically, as a teacher, I'm supposed to stop this kind of stuff but...I'll say nothing." He informed us.

The fuck was that supposed to mean? I hoped my face wasn't burning as red as it felt.

Stein left.

And now it was awkward.

"Soul..."

"You were crying." I explained, avoiding eye contact. "I was just simply stopping you from looking pathetic."

I felt her shift next to me and I was filled with curiosity. It wasn't her first kiss but-

"BAKA!" She punched me in the shoulder. "Are you trying to ruin me?"

Finally, I looked at her in confusion and saw that she was crying. What was bothering her? I suddenly had an idea that she must've had a boyfriend before me and it must've had to do with whatever happened to her before this year. I didn't know exactly what it was that bothered her but I was planning on finding out. Maybe it had to do with her anorexia.

"Oi..." I said, ignoring the pain in my arm. She had a pretty damn good punch. "What happened...your anorexia?"

"What...?" She said looking up, her eyes glistening, watery.

"Tell me your story." I requested. "You're not getting any cuter just crying like this and keeping it locked it. Stupid Worm." I didn't think insulting her was the best way to get it out but perhaps it was lightening the mood because it was like regulation, homeostasis. She was used to our constant bickering. It _was _the constant of the equation, the control group of the experiment.

"Y-You...want to know about...9th grade?" She sniffled, looking at me those eyes. Those green eyes that I had to avoid.

"Yeah. I do. And I'll tell you about the piano." I negotiated. "I'll tell you what you want if you tell me what I want."

And I didn't want to know this for the story either. I just wanted it because I cared. But of course I wasn't telling her that. I didn't want to sound lame.

That's when I realized that we were so close to each other on the piano bench that her exposed legs were glued to mine and our fingertips closer. When did we become like this? When did we get past each others differences? It was long ago, we just hadn't realized.

"Well..." She said. "I trust you, I guess."

"You guess?" I questioned.

"I just don't like to talk about this." Maka bit her lip, looking up.

Maka

Soul kissing me, amazingly by the way, was one thing. But having him as about 9th grade was another. I actually did trust him. With my life. But talking about such a sensitive topic. I didn't know if I could do it. It had been bottled up for so long, kept from guidance counselors, my dad, my old friends. It was actually the reason my dad started his problems. My mom leaving and my problems at school had triggered it and everything was all my fault.

"Maka, you can tell me." Soul said. "I may seem like the biggest douche bag in the world-"

"Which you are," I cut in, wiping tears from my eyes.

"-But I always keep my promises. And listen well. Because breaking promises and starting rumors is so uncool." Soul continued.

"Soul I don't even care about that." I told him. "I already dealt with that. I'm used to it."

"Maka..." Soul looked at me, his blood red eyes boring into me. "What happened?"

Breathing in, I looked up, knowing I _had _to tell him now. After all, it was very uncool to lead someone on and then flake out last minute.

"It all started in the fall of 9th grade," I started, finding Soul staring intently at me. "I was exactly like I am now. A nerd. A nobody. I studied as hard as I could. However, one day after school I found a younger kid being harassed by some older boys. The elementary school was, as you know, by the junior high. Though I know you didn't go to the same school as me last year. Anyway," I continued. "I figured that I had to stand up for the poor kid whose hat was getting stolen and some stuff from his backpack. "

_"What do you guys think you're doing to that poor kid?" I stood up defiantly in front of the little boy. "Give him his stuff back!"_

_The teen in front of me raised his eyebrows. He had distinctive auburn hair that stuck up in spikes. A smirk on his face was plastered there as if painted by a two year old.  
><em>

_"And who are you?" He asked me, curiously.  
><em>

_"Doesn't matter." I growled, crossing my arms. "I'm just telling you to stop bullying this boy." I motioned to the elementary student, peeking from behind me.  
><em>

_And the kid in front of me just chuckled. So did the boys with him as if I was missing out on some obvious joke.  
><em>

_I didn't think it was funny. They were ganging up on some poor little kid.  
><em>

_"If you don't give him his things back...I'm going to do something about it!" I informed him with authority.  
><em>

_And that was when they burst out laughing, no longer chuckling to themselves but all-out laughter.  
><em>

_"Girl, you got it all wrong." The boy in front of me clasped a hand on my shoulder. "That's my lil bro."  
><em>

_My eye twitched as I turned around to the little boy behind me. Now my face burned red. He...was his little brother?  
><em>

_"Uh...yeah." The tiny kid confirmed.  
><em>

_I was so embarrassed now. And as I was about to storm away, the auburn haired kid grabbed my wrist.  
><em>

_"Hey you didn't tell me your name," He said.  
><em>

_"Maka."  
><em>

_"I'm Kyou."  
><em>

"And that was the beginning of the end." I told Soul. "After a while, we got really close. We noticed each other at school more and always saw each other after school. Soon we started to date. I thought I loved him and I thought he loved me. Which he might have." My gaze shifted downward. "But...he was way too possessive. And one day one of the other boys who liked me, Aoi, went missing. He was later found in the hospital with a fractured leg bone. I thought it was an accident at first but then evidence was gathering up. At the night of the dance it got...heated. Aoi's best friend was convinced that Kyou had injured Aoi and they were fighting about it. I was so stupid, trying to stop them, and got caught up in the middle. On accident, Aoi's friend smacked me in the face."

Soul was still listening intently.

_"What the fuck did you just do to my girlfriend?" Kyou bellowed._

_His dark side frightened me, something I didn't know until know.  
><em>

_We were outside the school, outside the dance by the restroom.  
><em>

_Kyou tackled Aoi's friend, Nao to the ground.  
><em>

_Tears streamed down my cheeks.  
><em>

_"OY!" I screeched. "Stop it!"  
><em>

_"Silence it bitch!" But it wasn't Kyou. It was one of his friends from out of nowhere.  
><em>

_I snapped my head around.  
><em>

_"Wanna say that again?" I demanded.  
><em>

_Someone's hand clamped over my mouth. I fought against a tight grip, panic rising in my chest. Who the hell had my arms pinned behind my back, my elbows awkwardly in pain?  
><em>

_I still argued though they couldn't hear me. It was so painful watching Nao get beaten to a bloody pull right in front of me. His eye wasn't even visible anymore, a chunk of his hair pulled out and the shoulder of his shirt was tattered, blood seeping through.  
><em>

_I broke free of the grip and leaped in front of Nao, my arms spread out, taking a punch to the face. It hurt more than expected and I knew I couldn't fight at all. But adrenaline was pumping through my veins and I was in so much shock in finding out my boyfriend could easily murder this kid.  
><em>

_"Get out of the fucking way, you whore!" My arms were being tugged at from both sides, excruciatingly.  
><em>

_I wasn't even close to a whore either.  
><em>

_"Would you stop it?" I shrieked, hoping that I broke their eardrums, hoping a teacher would hear us, but we were outside and they were in the gym with the blaring music, regulating kids.  
><em>

_Despite their efforts, I still managed to stand my ground in front of Nao, in front of my boyfriend who also had his pride.  
><em>

_"Maka." He hissed, venom dripping out his mouth practically. "Move."  
><em>

_"Make me." I growled.  
><em>

_"You don't want me to make you, babe." Kyou said.  
><em>

_I didn't know what I had seen in him. He was absolutely dreadful.  
><em>

_"Don't call me that." I retorted. "I'm breaking up with you."  
><em>

_"No you're not."  
><em>

_He grabbed my neck and I yelped out, not in pain but in surprise. Suddenly his touch that was once reassuring was reproachful. I wanted out.  
><em>

_So I slapped him. And he slapped me back.  
><em>

_But I refused to back down. I spat in his face, kicked him in the crotch and broke free, sprinting for the entrance to the school. But my release didn't last long and I was clothes-lined in the stomach. Then someone lifted me over their shoulders despite my protest.  
><em>

_"THIS IS KIDNAPPING!" I cried. "LET ME GO!"  
><em>

_I bit his shoulder. I couldn't really tell if it was my boyfriend either. Ex boyfriend. But I fought all the way to the car. Out of panic. Out of fright. And out of anger.  
><em>

Wes didn't recognize me as the legendary Maka for nothing.

_"Maka. Be nice." Kyou told me, sitting across from me in that dark vehicle after he placed duct tape across my lips.  
><em>

_It was pretty hard to respond with duct over my mouth and Nao on the ground under my feet in the car moaning, one of his teeth busted straight through his lip, disturbingly.  
><em>

_So I raised my middle finger.  
><em>

_Of course that generated a response, my arms being bound behind my back by whoever was sitting next to me, one of Kyou's suddenly evil friends. When did they get like this? How had I not seen it before? Honestly...there were some signs that Kyou was aggressive before but I never thought it'd lead to unmotivated kidnapping.  
><em>

_I scowled. Despite the constant fear rising in my throat like bile, I still had a fighting fire burning in my chest that wanted to break loose, break these binds. I at least wanted to yell out. Maybe I was a little less scared because I knew Kyou wouldn't kill me. Perhaps he didn't love me but he didn't hate me and I knew he wasn't that bad.  
><em>

_My feet itched in the heels they were in, bleeding, I couldn't see the red substance but I felt the hotness and wetness of it. I knew it was there and probably didn't have to feel it to know it either. Closing my eyes , I formulated a plan, thinking of the red oozing down my foot.  
><em>

_"Gonna say something, _Love_?" Kyou question._

_I glared at him, my eyebrows knitted deeply together, showing my true hatred. It may be hard to believe how quickly we both went from love to hate but there was a fine line between the two right?  
><em>

_So I kicked him because there was tape over my mouth. Shame on him for asking me a question when he knew I couldn't even respond. That dick face.  
><em>

_We arrived somewhere. It was an unfamiliar place but relatively close to the school, almost ten minutes away. It was a tall building that had the feeling of being abandoned but didn't exactly look like the cliche hideout for and bad guys and or maybe that was just my brain catching up to my irrational thoughts. 'Hey maybe this is a little weird, your beloved boyfriend is kidnapping you'.  
><em>

_I was yanked out of the car.  
><em>

Soul shifted uncomfortably next to me. I wasn't telling the story in perfect detail but out of what I could remember from the horrifying experience. A past I was trying to forget. The past is the past.

"I was kept in a locked room for probably three hours and I had no idea when I was going to be let out and it was confusing because it was too dark and too quiet to try to understand what was going on around me. I considered screaming as loud as I could for a while but it didn't help. Finally though, the door opened."

_A sliver of light appeared and I was yanked out and pulled towards my boyfriend who was sitting at a a table, twirling a knife, immediately my insides churned._

_"Maka," Kyou started, noticing my shaking fear. "I need you to forget everything that has happened here. You're telling no one about this."  
><em>

_I then realized that we were surrounded by a group of boys that were all wearing orange bandanas and black cut off shirts. Had they changed? And that was when I notice that they all had the same tattoo on their right arm, the same one as Kyou. He told me not to tell anyone and I thought I was the only one who knew. It was the shape of a sadistic pumpkin face. There was no silhouette of the pumpkin but it had that face...that creepy recognizable face.  
><em>

_That was when I saw that it was a gang.  
><em>

_I staggered back, frightened, wishing I hadn't read so many history books that dealt with gangs in America and Japan. This was probably like a Death City branch of the Yakuza.  
><em>

_"Yes...Maka." Kyou understood me well enough to know that I figured it out. "Now give me your word that you won't tell anyone."  
><em>

_I couldn't say anything. It was wrong and I knew I had to report it to the police. There was no way I was about to give my word to something like this.  
><em>

"Maka..."_ Kyou continued. "Give me your word." He was hissing through his teeth._

I didn't even realize that Soul was holding my hand at the moment.

_"You're disgusting." I growled. "I refuse."_

_That was what my body forced me to say though my mind furiously started to work against it, knowing I might end up getting hurt if I defied him further. I should've just pledged not to say anything. I should've just gone along.  
><em>

_Kyou raised his eyebrows, a motion I was familiar with, that used to bring me joy.  
><em>

_"Fine_ _then _Maka. _Strip her." Kyou commanded._

_I was confused at first. I thought that they meant a weapon search but I was wrong as they began to tug at my clothes.  
><em>

_"Get off me!" I screeched. "What do you plan on doing huh? FUCK! This is illegal! LET ME GO RIGHT NOW!" My shouts couldn't be heard though and my shirt was beginning to get pulled over my head. If that was taken off I'd only be left in my dressy skirt.  
><em>

_I wasn't about to go down without a fight but I was panicking at an exponential rate and was against a bunch of teenage boys, well through puberty and far stronger than me. So basically I was beyond rational thinking and completely out numbered and over powered.  
><em>

_Out of the ruckus and confusion, I wasn't able to see Kyou's expression at his girlfriend being stripped bare in front of him. He probably enjoyed it that sadistic bastard. But I was far too busy trying to focus and formulate an escape plan. Getting raped wasn't a part of the plan.  
><em>

_My mom told me that if I was ever in one of these situations, just bite off the guy's dick. I seriously considered it but also seriously considered how gross but sadistically worth it it could be. But I was far too frightened at the moment to be humored by such a scenario.  
><em>

_The rough boys managed to get me out of my shirt, leaving me in my skirt and bra.  
><em>

_"She's barely got a size." Someone complained.  
><em>

_"But look at those legs."  
><em>

_"Aww yeah the legs!"  
><em>

_And those legs kicked him square in the mouth but also earned me a slap which produced a scream from my lungs that could've cracked the windows of the tall building where we resided. The chain reaction of sudden actions caused confusion between some of the gang members and they paused for a minute, my scream sharpening the air.  
><em>

_"Oh shut up." One of them growled.  
><em>

_But before I could respond, I found my neck being pinched by two big hands.  
><em>

_"If you resist us, we'll just kill you now." The guy said.  
><em>

_And now I finally made eye contact with Kyou, giving him a final glare before I was about to give up all hope. And that was when something poked at my bare skin, into my side. It was cold, hard and metal. There seemed to be a hole too that pressed down.  
><em>

_Averting my glare from Kyou's gaze for a split second, I processed that it was a gun. And my genius brain began to work at an exponential rate, instead of my panic.  
><em>

_"If you don't resist, we'll let you out alive."  
><em>

_'And pregnant' I thought.  
><em>

_Closing my eyes, I prepared my quick nimble hands.  
><em>

_Then I snatched the gun and rolled over, pointing it upward, shooting it with a scream.  
><em>

_"BACK UP!" I held it up to them, shaking, in my skirt, broken heels and bra, standing in a wide position. The gun was pointed at Kyou and that was when I realized that my plan was perfect. No one else had a gun. Dumb fucks. They underestimated me. The guy holding me dropped his guard because he figured I had given up.  
><em>

_"How did she..."_

Soul was looking at me in amazement. Our breathing had become one now too, both of us immersed in the story, me reliving it and him watching it through his imagination.

"That's what Wes meant." Soul interrupted. "But how did he..."

"I don't know." I cut in, curiosity peaking inside of me.

"But your anorexia." Soul added, confused.

"Oh yeah, that."

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note: OHO. Some pretty hard core stuff. Part two in next chapter. Gotta stop writing for now. Gotta pack for our school field trip to Chicago ...gonna be bombing. And got some studying to do unfortunately. But that's nothing new. Soooo anywayyys. Reviewwww with loooove from meee. I hope you guys are enjoying the intense drama and starting to understand why I put this story in this genre and the rating I gave it. Sooo reviiiiieeew! :D<strong>


	20. Chapter 20

_One book in one year, written about your partner. Game on. Oh wait, they're writing about you too. [SoMa, TsuStar, KidLiz]  
><em>

_Rated M for Mature content_

_Genre: Romance, Suspense_

.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o._  
><em>

_Fiction  
><em>

_SunshinGirl09_

Maka

"They let me leave and I found my way to a convenience store and I disposed of the gun in the trash, taking out the bullets of course. I considered calling the police but they threatened to have all the branches of the Yakuza make it their goal to hunt me down and murder me. I doubted it but they would still come after me."

I continued, feeling colder suddenly. Soul watched me shiver but his stared urged me to tell more.

"For the rest of the school year, I was haunted by them. There were terrible rumors going around...that I got pregnant! That I was a whore! People lied and said that they thought they saw my stomach protruding. I was shunned, ignored and everyone sided with Kyou. I couldn't tell anyone about it at the risk of my life. I didn't stop eating because I was self conscious about my weight. And the fact that I didn't want to look pregnant only played a little into my decision. I was just so depressed I _couldn_'t eat.

"And my parents marriage fell apart. It was so hard to keep up my perfect grades and I had lost all of my friends. I had to deal with Kyou's sneers in the hallways and was no longer close with his younger brother either. But I did earn the legendary name among the Yakuza."

Soul was silent for a moment and he sucked in a breath.

"There's more to this isn't there?" He questioned.

"Well there's-"

"Just stop."

Soul

I noticed how uncomfortable she already was. This was enough of the story for me to understand and I began to really see the person she was. I knew that I had already misjudged her previously and this was adding to my sympathy though I tried to hide it.

Maka shivered and I instinctively removed my dress jacket and handed it to her. She took it and placed it over her shoulders with a smile.

"Gee...Soul being nice?" She inquired, followed by a giggle.

I raised an eyebrow at the daring girl.

"Don't get used to it," I muttered.

She just raised an eyebrow, sitting comfortably in my jacket.

"Now can we get some food or something? Because that's the main reason I came." I added.

So for the second time tonight we walked back to the life of the party and filled our plates with assortments of foods.

It was when we actually sat down in a decent seat that Black Star rose to the occasion, out ohis chair.

"Oh dear god..." Maka mumbled.

"AIGHT YA'LL!" He announced. "THIS PARTY BE LAME!"

Everyone rolled their eyes, used to the typical Black Star s

"SO LET'S START A FOOD FIGHT!" He cried.

There was a lack of response from the crowd of kids.

But finally, "That's gross!"

"Nasty!"

I smirked. Black Star was now only going to be provoked. Now there was no way to avoid it. He was like a little punk ass kid. The smart thing to do was to distract him but some chick and random dude just had to ruin it. Prepare to be splattered.

"Man," Black Star complained. "The fuck is your problem?"

Next thing we knew, the guy who spoke up had a slice of strawberry pie in his face. It took a burger down someone's shirt to really start it though.

Food was now flying everywhere.

"HEY! DRESSES COST MONEY YOU KNOW!" I heard Maka call from underneath the table.

"YEAH!" An angry Liz resounded, hiding behind Kid, who just stood nonchalently not bothered by but not encouraging the fight. It's not like he had to clean it up anyway. Besides, food was flying so fucking fast his brain wouldn't be able to decipher the mess to see if it was symmetrical or asymmetrical.

I looked over and saw Ox. He stared at Maka for a few seconds, then at me giving us a confused look and then shook his head. That strange kid.

Tsubaki

"GIRL! I GOT YO BACK!" My boyfriend leaped in front of me, blocking a cupcake from hitting me square in the eye.

While I didn't entirely approve of his instigation of a food fight, he was protecting me so I couldn't say anything against it.

Black Star turned around and gave me a thumbs up of approval while a cupcake dripped down his face. I tried not to watch as he picked it up and ate it disturbingly. He could be so daft sometimes. I wondered how many times that hit the floor.

Maka and I made eye contact. I wondered where she and Soul went. They had some serious looks before that I was questioning. But above all of that I was trying to figure out their feelings for each other. It was always hard to tell with those two.

I wanted them actually to end up together. They seemed perfect for each other. They made up for what each other lacked and that was important. But they were also best friends though they tried to not show it. It was amazing actually how their nonverbal cues showed _so _much.

Liz

"Kid!" I hissed as my knight in shining armor turned around. "Aren't you gonna do something about this?"

He raised an eyebrow, dodging a flying steak. I didn't know people could look so cool ducking from food.

"Well everyone seems to be having fun." Kid answered me. "I'm not sure what you want me to do."

"Well this isn't working wonders for my hair-"

"I'M HAVING FUN!" Patty cried.

And then...a silver haired man walked in, familiarly looking like Soul.

**A/N: Worse chapter ever. Sorry. Half a chapter. Can't update long story. Must go to bed. Ap test. Explain later. BYYEEE! I will update with a long one soon.**


	21. Chapter 21

_One book in one year, written about your partner. Game on. Oh wait, they're writing about you too. [SoMa, TsuStar, KidLiz]  
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_Rated M for Mature content_

_Genre: Romance, Suspense_

.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o._  
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_Fiction  
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_SunshinGirl09_

Soul

Wes' entrance was totally uncalled for. I didn't expect someone like him to step on the scene. Though I doubted many people here knew him, it seemed as if they were surprised as well. All food stopped flying in the air and my brother dodged chunks of chicken smoothly by shifted slightly to the left, his blood red eyes on me.

The air seemed to freeze. Did other people sense that his presence was deadly? I hoped that it wasn't only fucking me because that would be ridiculous. I didn't want this Christmas party to be ruined either. Why did Wes have to come and fuck it up? Honestly.

I still hadn't given Maka her present.

"I am looking for a Soul Evans." Wes announced to my distaste.

I bitterly looked at him, knowing full well that he was aware of my location.

Maka glanced up at me from under the table as she slowly rose and stood by me. I was tempted to push her back down. That idiot girl. Showing herself in front of my brother again. I didn't want him to think we were close. I didn't want him to talk to her. Ever. I didn't want him to harass her. Especially since she wasn't a musician.

Kid pointed towards me, confused.

Everyone just stared at my brother also wondering what was going on. They didn't understand they were being hypnotized. Not literally. But Wes' presence just kinda had that effect. It was like the calm before the storm. It was the feeling of knowing something was going to go wrong. Like shit was going down.

But I wasn't about to let that happen.

"What do you want?" I tried to keep my voice from sounding like a growl but I guess it didn't come out that way.

My brother seemed amused at my anger. He was used to it though. He just played with that expression because he knew it pissed me off to an unlimited extent.

"To take you home, brother." I hated that he addressed me that way, making it clear to everyone in the goddamn room that I was related to this freak.

I narrowed my eyes. Why would he need to take me home? Had mom sent him? More importantly, how did he find me? I told my family that I was going to a party. I didn't even specify that it was a Christmas party, though it'd probably make sense considering it was December 24th. But still, I didn't understand how they could've possibly found out the location. I said nothing about where I was going exactly. I didn't mention and names, streets or even that it was actually in Death City.

So how the fuck did they find me?

"Why?" I wondered with a raised brow.

"I think you know why." He remarked coolly, his hands in his pocket, standing near the entrance still.

_No, I don't think I actually fucking know why._

Maka kept glancing over at me and I wished that she would stop. Honestly. Was she trying to make it obvious that we were friends? I thought about how I had kissed her not long ago and mentally slapped myself for being so stupid. I was lucky that _she _didn't slap me. Seriously. When did I start feeling this way about her? Didn't matter right now though. All that mattered was getting Wes to freaking go away. But I didn't think I could do that unless I went with him.

"Fine." I complied angrily, glancing at the blonde girl next to me.

Was I doing this for her? Ugh. This love-hate relationship between the two of us was getting annoying and she looked at me, a look that begged me to stay. Part of me didn't want to depart but I figured Wes was totally killing the mood for this fucking awesome party. Dammit.

"Soul..." She whispered.

I hushed her with a click of my tongue. She crinkled her nose. I sensed an uproar or breakout anytime soon so it was time to bolt. Not that I couldn't deal with her mood swings and sudden illogical arguments that targeted men, making them the ones always at fault, but I didn't want Wes to watch. So I just walked away.

"Good." Wes concluded, his eyes flashing to Maka then to me. He then lingered on her a little longer before waving me over.

The gesture pissed me off extremely. But I kept my anger under control.

"Bye guys." I waved coolly, being the cool guy that I was.

Maka's present would just have to wait. But it weighed down in my pocket. No way I was giving it to her with everybody watching though.

Maka

When Soul left, I felt my heart sink. He had become the core reason that I was enjoying this party. While I loved all my other friends, I was just experiencing the new feelings that I had developed for him and it was all blowing up in my heart right now.

He kissed me. He made the move. I had it sketched into my brain with a permanent marker that all men were evil but I regretted that thought when Soul popped through my mind. Why was it like that? Why was Soul different? He could be so disrespectful sometimes. He could be so blunt. Rude. Insensitive. But then at the same time, when he cares ... it's the best feeling. It made me feel like I was floating on a cloud when the small moments, that he made efforts to make, happened.

How was he different? Or maybe it's because we're both outcasts.

"Maka!" Tsubaki waved in front of my face. "Hey!"

My eyes brightened off and I realized that I was staring at the closed door that Soul had left through.

"Now don't tell me you miss him already." Tsubaki smiled, glancing over at her boyfriend, making a quick check that Black Star wasn't currently destroying anything. "I mean, you and Soul seemed to be so close moments ago." She informed me. "Like you were on the same wavelength."

The word 'wavelength' stuck to my mind. What had Tsubaki meant? Were we in sync? Thinking alike? Soul and I? No way...

But I was now starting to feel the effects of missing him and he'd only been gone for five minutes..

"Tsubaki...how do you know if you like someone?" I questioned.

"Like Soul?" She giggled.

"Like...anyone..." I answered, trying not to specify 'Soul'.

Tsubaki looked up thinking.

"First of all, you can't come up with a reason _why _you like them. Second, when you're with them, it's like everyone else in the room disappears. Third...you don't have to tell them to keep a secret a secret, they already know. And lastly, you constantly bicker. Well at least you don't always get along. If you're always getting along with someone, once you get into your first real fight, disaster happens. The last one is more advice than anything." Tsubaki winked at me.

"Isn't that considered love?" I questioned, not think that was criteria for a crush.

"So you love Soul?" Tsubaki suggested.

I scoffed.

"I don't believe in love, Tsubaki." She gave me a confused expression. "At least not yet."

Tsubaki shrugged. "I guess you have to date someone to know."

I narrowed my eyes.

"You implying something, girl?" I joked but my heart fluttered at the thought of Soul and I going out. But it wasn't as if I hadn't dated before. I dated egotistical Kyou back in ninth grade. I thought I was in love and well...look at how that turned out. They turned out to be a gang. I got kidnapped, almost raped, and barely escaped with my virginity and a gun. I don't think that exactly qualifies as the perfect date.

"Maka...just go after him." Tsubaki said, glancing over at Black Star again because he was harassing Ox about something irrelevant to ...well anything.

I almost screamed at that ridiculous idea but I remembered that I hadn't given him his gift yet. From my purse, I pulled out a plastic bag.

"Here," I handed it to Tsubaki. "Everyone's Christmas presents."

Tsubaki smiled.

"Wish I could give you a ride." She suddenly said with a laugh. "I'll go ask Liz or Kid."

I shrugged.

"I'll take the bus." I answered, feeling a burst of confidence, fingering the gift card for Soul in my pocket.

Soul

A goddamn dinner party. The food was shit too.

I glanced around at the prestigious musicians seated at our table and wondered if my mom had anything else to do with her life.

Of course Blair was here to, glaring at me the whole time. Whoops. Probably shouldn't have pretended to hook up with her. I knew it wasn't a cool thing, what I did to her. But still, the only thing she looked for in a guy was his body so it's not like I was breaking her heart or hurting her feelings.

I considered starting another food fight here but that would probably get me grounded but I mean, come on! It would be so damn funny.

"Boy, are you disrespecting me?" My mother scolded, in front of everyone. "Sit up straight."

I thought about slumping even further down _just _to piss her off but I valued my life more than the average emo kid.

"Sorry." I mumbled and to her satisfaction, sat straighter.

So then of course I became the topic of discussion for the dinner table. People talked about my incredible piano school but somehow the subject of my brother managed to squeeze its way in there which resulted in Wes smirking, glancing over at me.

I returned with the look with a glare.

About a half hour into dinner I had had about enough. I stood up, grabbing my dish. To make up for this abrupt behavior, I covered it with something to make it seem like I was trying to be proper.

"Anyone else done?" I inquired. "I can take your plates."

"Oh quite the gentleman!" Someone complimented.

Only did it to get out of the room.

My mother seemed to approve though her expression remained the same.

I cleared the table and began the dishes. It took about 45 minutes to get everything done. Maids had insisted on assisting me but I felt like I needed to do them for no particular reason. Maybe I was just scared my mom would come in and find me being unproductive.

When I was done, I sneaked upstairs, avoiding my parents and locked myself in my room for the night.

Sitting on my bed, I thought about Maka, regretting not giving her present sooner.

Maka

The city bus dropped me off about a block away from Soul's house. Took long enough. I didn't know that it didn't come to the stop near Kid's house for another twenty minutes and then I had to go to a bunch of other stops on the way. It was almost eleven by the time I arrived in Soul's rich neighborhood.

I hadn't really planned on what I was going to say. He'd probably be pissed that I came back because he clearly didn't want me to say anything back at the party. And it was now that I remembered I was still in my party dress.

When I got to this gigantic house (not as big as Kid's though) I stopped at the front door. Then I glanced upward in thought. Maybe ringing the doorbell wouldn't be the best idea. Soul probably wouldn't like the idea of his family knowing I was over. Besides he was probably sleeping.

I was about to leave for good, disappointed when an idea suddenly popped in my head. A completely ridiculous idea.

So I skipped around to the back of the house, spotting Soul's window. In the movies they always had some sort of rock to toss at the window. I looked around. There were no rocks. Or there was a tree that they could climb. I looked around once more. No tree by his window.

I was disheartened and glanced at my phone to look at the time. 10:43 PM. And that's when another idea came to mind. I was determined.

Blinking, I flipped my phone over and tried to stick my fingers underneath the case, prying it open. Once it was off, I squinted, looking at the window above my head. Then I tossed the hard, plastic case. It missed terribly. I frowned. I was not about to give up.

So I tried a few more times. Failed again. My phone case was the same weight as a small pebble too!

"Man..." I whispered. "The movies are so fake!"

I jumped up tossing it again, failing once more. Then another idea crossed my mind. While there were no trees close enough to Soul's window where I could reach and touch, they were close enough to throw a phone case.

I hopped onto the thick trunk of a tree and started to shimmy upwards, well aware of the expensive dress I was wearing, which didn't make climbing any more easy. I didn't go all the way up but I got close enough to the window where I knew I could make it.

Then I chucked my phone case. It hit the window hard and fell down. A shadow, Soul's, in the room stirred. But to no avail, he didn't get up. I was about to have a tantrum but then I remembered that I still had the other side of my phone case in my purse, which was securely strapped around my shoulder.

I pried it off and gripped the tree for more support. When I threw the case, it successfully smacked the window, even harder than the first throw, but it also caused me to lose my balance. I tried gripping the tree for dear life but was falling. My hands scraped against it, slowing my momentum, but still sliding downward. Shrieking, I landed with a thump, feeling the wind knocked out of me as I looked up in a daze at the window above me.

The shadow stirred more and finally Soul looked out the window. I could barely see anything but I saw him twitch in shock. He thrust the window open.

"Maka!" Soul hissed. "What are you doing?"

Shaking my head,I slumped upwards.

"Present..." I answered in a ditzy tone, still totally dizzy.

"Dammit...idiot! Are you okay?" He seemed to be the one having a tantrum.

I shook my head a few more times, examining my dress, thankful there were no scratches but my hands weren't so lucky. They were bleeding out.

"Hang on..." Soul muttered, his shadow disappearing.

I wanted to get up but couldn't move.

Soon though, Soul reappeared next to me helping me up. I tried to ignore the fact that he was in sweats and no shirt. And there was an ugly scar etched across his abs.

"What were you thinking?" He questioned, examining my hands, trying to hide a worried expression.

"I had to get your attention!" I said with a huff, trying not to act cute but my stomach was doing flip flops.

"Why didn't you just text me?"

. . .

I almost punched a wall. Too bad I was slumped on Soul. I could've broken out into a scream. Why didn't I think of that?

"Come on." Soul muttered.

"Oh asshole." I mumbled back. "Now you're letting me in."

He rolled his eyes in the dark.

I thought about giving him my signature hi five but my hands weren't in the best condition for that.

Soul led me into his house and I was familiar with it. We walked up the same dramatic staircase and into his room.

"Sit." He ordered, cursing under his breath as he searched through his drawer on his nightstand.

From the drawer, he withdrew some gauze and medical tape.

"You just keep that kind of stuff in your room?" I questioned with a snicker and as it got silent I immediately regretted it.

Soul. Cutter. Shit.

"Soul I didn't-"

"It's fine." He muttered. I couldn't tell if he was angry or not but he took my hands in his and starting putting disinfectant on them. It stung but I was tough and didn't flinch. Then he wrapped them carefully, avoiding eye contact.

He then sat down next to me. Silence.

Finally he broke it.

"So you go me a present eh?" He flashed a pointy grin.

I brightened up.

"Hell yeah! Be appreciative, bastard." I smiled, pulling out the gift card.

He looked at it and chuckled.

_'For my favorite asshole.'_

"I love this store...it's the only place I shop." Soul informed me. "How'd you know?"

I shrugged, feeling proud.

"Lucky guess. Figured you'd like any place that played music."

Soul

She was better at reading me than I thought. I didn't know if that was a good thing or a bad thing.

"Well it turns out," I informed her. "I got something for you too, Wormie."

She raised her eyebrows in surprise. I kind of liked that look on her. Especially if I was the cause of it.

I reached into my drawer and pulled out the gift. It was then that I remembered I was shirtless and didn't even think about it when I had come out to see Maka. I was just getting too comfortable around that nerdy ass.

I handed her the small box. She blinked, turning it over.

"Would ya just open it?" I tried not to growl with impatience. It was hard enough being this nice. I liked it better when we were arguing.

"I hear you..." she remarked, pulling off the cover. She reached in and pulled out a silver charm bracelet with just one charm on it. A book with the word _fiction _scribbled upon it.

The smile that was suddenly on her face roped my stomach into tight knots. A tear was close to sliding down her cheek.

"Soul..."She sniffled. "This is actually...thoughtful." She paused again. "I've never gotten a gift like..." But the girl trailed off hugging the gift.

I didn't know how to break the silence with anything but humor.

"Well...it was cheap okay." She wasn't listening to me though.

We spent the next half hour chatting.

Maka

Around eleven thirty I knew that I was going to have to leave. The streets weren't the best at night as they were but now it was getting really late.

"Need me to drive you?" Soul offered. "Don't want your non-athletic-fuck ass walking home and getting attacked."

I didn't know whether it was him being nice or mean. Or both.

"Um." I was about to challenge him to a tennis match or something but shrugged instead. "Eh. I'm used to it."

Soul didn't take that too well.

"Okay so then you probably would _mind _me driving you?" He continued, ignoring my remark.

Well. It would beat walking.

So Soul drove me home in his expensive Lexus. The whole time we spent together in his room and in the car we never talked about the kiss and I didn't know if I should bring it up or not. It didn't matter though. Because this was the best Christmas Eve I'd had in such a long time.

"Soul..." I said exiting the car when we arrived at my apartment complex.

"Hmmm?" He glanced out the window at me.

"Merry Christmas!" I called loudly, not caring if it bothered anyone because it was quarter to midnight.

Soul looked up, trying not to smile.

"Yeah, merry Christmas to you too, Worm."

I tried to not burst out laughing as he drove off shaking his head.

When I walked inside my apartment, I dropped the keys on the counter tiredly and sauntered to the kitchen table, faint snoring sounds coming from the bedroom. Papa was home. Alone too. Thank god. Then something caught my eye.

On top of the table there was a green and red piece of cake with a big Santa structure made of frosting. Under the plate, there was a card. I pulled it out.

_Dear Maka,_

_I know that you like the most frosting so I got this for you baby! I tried calling you twice but the phone got disconnected. I know you're smart and you'll come home when you're done at you're party. Pleeeeaseeee don't hate your Papa! :(  
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_Merry Christmas_!

A tear slid down my cheek. I missed the days when my dad wasn't always drunk. Because this was how he acted. And I always acted annoyed but the truth was I missed it. So much.

"Papa...I miss you." I whispered.

But this truly was becoming the best Christmas.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Ahahahaaaa don't shoot me! I updated finally with a longer chapter. Yes but there was hardcore AP testing! I OWNED THAT BITCH BY THE WAY! Yeah I was terrified for it but I'd been studying months before and I did not want to fail. So I took it and basically I'm the only one who thought it was easy. I was the only one who studied for three months though...so yeah. I couldn't update within those weeks. But yeah next week is my last week of school and finals ughhh on the last day. I miss middle school last year when we had fun. Well...we started the legendary eighth grade food fight last year on the last day of school :D Every school in the district knew about it. Most epic day at lunch ever. *sigh* So anyway! Hope you guys are enjoying the story! Review!**


	22. Chapter 22

_One book in one year, written about your partner. Game on. Oh wait, they're writing about you too. [SoMa, TsuStar, KidLiz]  
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_Rated M for Mature content_

_Genre: Romance, Suspense_

.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o._  
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_Fiction  
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_SunshinGirl09_

Maka

The fact that Soul and I never discussed the matter of us kissing made everything totally awkward. I mean, to other people we may have _looked _normal but damn. I felt _awkward._ It was mid-January and I still felt my heart do flip flops whenever I saw him, whenever we hi-fived. Anything. I just couldn't deal with it anymore.

"Maybe you like him." Tsubaki suggested.

"Or maybe I just don't know what to do around him anymore." As I said it I regretted it, remembering that Tsubaki didn't know about the kiss we shared on Christmas. That...could be a problem couldn't it? I would've told her but I heard before that telling people these things can ruin relationships. Not that I was referring to any relationship in particular.

"Why would you not know what to do around him?" Tsubaki questioned, taking a sip of the coffee the was placed in front of her.

I took a sip of my hot chocolate, thankful we were indoors and not outdoors in the cold.

"Uh...no reason." I lied to her face.

Tsubaki raised an eyebrow.

"Maka I _do _have a boyfriend." She informed me. "So I can tell you're lying about something. You wouldn't feel awkward around him unless..." She trailer off leaving me to answer.

I avoided eye contact and took another sip of my sweet drink topped in whipped cream.

"Okay...so _maybe _we kissed."

"You what?" Tsubaki covered her mouth at the sudden outburst, probably not used to the idea of her own voice raising about a low amount of decibels.

"Th-that's not a problem is it, right?" I asked her, feeling uncomfortable.

"Um...well Maka that changes everything now! How have you two not talked?" She asked, tapping her fingers. "Now that's awkward!"

I nodded in agreement, wishing I had told her earlier but she didn't seem angry that I kept it from her. It _was _Tsubaki. She wasn't known to hold grudges, was she?

"Yeah a bit." I agreed.

"So did he kiss you or you kiss him?" Tsubaki interrogated.

My eyebrow shot up and I glared at her. It was awkward enough thinking about what happened. I didn't want to explain it.

"He kissed me." I answered, feeling even more uncomfortable.

Tsubaki smiled innocently. That evil girl...

"Maka...I think you've find _love_." She said.

I shrugged trying to ignore the way my stomach did flip flops at that thought. I didn't want to be in love. It hurt so much. After Kyou, I didn't know if I ever wanted to love ever again. The only bipolar man I could put up with was my father and even though he had gotten much better in the past month, he still pissed me the fuck off.

But what happened with Kyou...it hurt my heart...so much.

And then I thought about Soul and I wanted to save him from all his pain. Desire to save someone at the risk of your own well being...was that love?

"Nah...Tsubaki that's crazy." I argued with her. How could that possibly be?

Tsubaki shrugged also.

"Okay. But you're still gonna have to do something about this, aren't you?"

Soul

"Sup?" I greeted my partner with our handshake.

She chuckled nervously.

"Cat got your tongue, Wormie?" I mocked, pretending to stutter.

Maka rolled her eyes while opening her locker taking out some books and then slamming it shut so she could glare at me.

"Bastard." She mumbled, however falling into step with me when I walked away.

I glanced down at her journal, dying to read it, wondering what deep secrets about me that she had hidden in there. Thinking about it caused me to laugh aloud. If I read it I'd probably end up chucking it across the room when I realized how many times she called me bad names in there.

We arrived at Marie-sensei's classroom on time. Really the only time I ever came before the bell rang was when I was with Maka. I'd like to say she made me a better person but she just made me more of a pushover probably. Honestly, I was losing my edge around her now. Not cool.

"Wanna get off my desk?" She asked me, watching me as I sat cross legged on her desk.

I shrugged.

So I got up and stood in front of it, blocking her.

"Oy..." She mumbled dangerously.

I liked pissing her off to this extent.

"I'm standing here until you make me move." I challenged, smirking. Man, her expressions were fucking priceless.

"Soul Eater!" Maka cried, letting go of her books to tackle me. It was more friendly though than I expected. I figured she'd actually attack me but this was surprisingly weak.

She had almost got me out of the way but the bell rang and Marie walked into the classroom, raising a suspicious eyebrow at the sight of Maka attempting to twist my wrist. She just shook her head and walked to her desk, leaning on it is as she stood, addressing us.

"Oy, class!" She called. "Calm down and take your seats."

I moved away from Maka's desk slowly, earning her tongue stuck out at me and I was instantly reminded of our kiss.

Shit. Why the fuck did I do that? Maybe that's why her behavior was becoming increasingly awkward. I didn't even know why I kissed her. I couldn't have possibly _liked _her. I mean, damn, she was my friend now and I hated to admit that I didn't mind her presence at all anymore. Actually, I preferred it over other peoples.

"Before we work on our stories," Marie said. "I want to have a quick look at these books."

I zoned out and looked over at my partner who seemed to be paying attention, to everyone else, but I knew better. Her eyes weren't focused with the fiery determination they normally held. She was thinking about something...but what? I was a little eager but pinched myself to pay attention again.

However my gaze returned to her once more.

She finally realized and returned a stare, raising her eyebrows and waving. But she didn't look that happy. I wonder what was going on with her.

Did I do something?

Tsubaki

Black Star and I sat at the table at lunch eating each others food. We stopped having separate lunches and just brought food to share...like a potluck every day between the two of us. His cooking wasn't the best but he liked to bring store bought things to try to please me.

I liked it either way.

"Hey where's Maka?" I asked suddenly.

Soul turned around, looking to see if she was in the lunch line.

"I...don't know."

"Soul you don't know where your girl is?" Black Star exclaimed, causing me to giggle.

"Eh shut up..." Soul mumbled. "She's not my girl or anything." But it looked like he regretted saying that.

I shrugged. He wanted to know where she was.

Then I glanced at my phone. There was a message from Maka.

_Maka: I was feeling a little sick so I went home. Make sure to tell everyone so they don't worry!_

I looked up, an idea popping into my head, feeling slightly evil. Oh well.

"Who's that from?" Black Star peered over my shoulder and I put my phone away so he wouldn't see.

Then I looked at Soul, putting an expression of pain on my face.

"Soul it's from Maka." I informed him.

"Yeah?" His interest was peaked.

"She's really sick! So she had to go home!" I tried to make the biggest deal possible out of this.

Soul narrowed his eyes, curious.

"How sick? Won't she need someone to take care of her?" He asked. "And her father isn't home! So she'll be sick all alone!"

"Ehh she'll be fine." I said, popping a piece of sushi into my mouth, trying to push his buttons.

"How can you say that?" Soul angrily replied. "She's your damn friend isn't she?" He argued with me.

I shrugged, making him even more angry.

"Dammit!" That's when he got up from the table angrily and stalked away.

Black Star glanced at me.

"Oy," he said. "Aren't you a little calm for you best friend to be sick?"

I giggled showing him the text. Though Black Star could dim witted, he understand and guffawed loudly, shaking his head and tightening the hold around my shoulders making me feel even more safer. Then we started another conversation about food, which is what we normally talked about but hey, we liked to eat.

Maka

I tiredly sat in bed, my throat scratchy. I had tried to talk less today but Soul made that impossible at my locker this morning. I couldn't just _not _talk to him if he was in front of me so I had to get out if there was any hope of my throat getting better. And now I started coughing violently because I was trying to clear it but the coughing had started to became a habit over the past week. Ugh and my head. It killed like a mother. Damn.

The water was not helping any bit either. I looked at the glass on my bedside. It only made my burning throat even worse. I did try to gargle salt water but the pain only went away for about ten minutes and then returned with a vengeance.

I was starting to get the chills to. I mean, I wasn't that sick but I was to the point where I was just tired and didn't want to do anything. I thought about the biology lessens we had last year about the immune system, having the white blood cells recognize pathogens by seeing the antigens and thought about viruses, attacking cells by injecting DNA. Nasty.

To sum it all up, I was in a lot of pain. My head and my body.

While I lay in bed, I was writing my story. The words were flowing even more easily now than at the beginning of the year. I considered changing the first part of the story because all I did was insult him but then the story would lack character development.

_There was a girl who was in Soul's life too. He was always on her mind. No one quite understood that all of his insults would give him charm in front of her but that was just how it turned out to be. Neither of them were ever bored around each other. And when she learned who he really was, she couldn't stay away from him. It was so hard. He was a bad boy and she was the good girl._

I tried to ignore the familiarity as I wrote the story. But it couldn't help but come out.

I, however, did not expect banging on my door during the middle of the school day. Tired, I got out of bed, already exhausted from taking the bus from school to my apartment. I padded along the kitchen linoleum to the front door.

"Hello-"

I didn't even get to finish my sentence or opening the door because it was pried open.

"Oy! Maka! What's wrong? You sick?" Soul burst in the door, knocking me over and we both tumbled on the floor.

Achingly, I sat up and looked him in the eye. His face was plastered with concern.

"Soul..." I said softly. "I'm...okay."

He blinked looking around confused.

"But Tsubaki said..." He protested.

"I told her I was a little sick." I told him while he stood up and held out his hand for me. I took it, electric sparks seeming to fly between our fingers as he pulled me up.

Soul crossed his arms.

"Well...what's wrong?" He questioned, looking around awkwardly.

"Uh...I've got a sore throat and a-" I hacked a few times, covering my mouth. "Cold." I finished.

Soul raised an eyebrow at me.

"Shouldn't you be in bed?" He suggested.

I nearly rolled my eyes at the ridiculous red-eyed boy.

"I was in bed before you frantically knocked on the door." I informed him walking into the kitchen, knowing he'd follow.

I arrived and opened up the refrigerator.

"Want some food?" I offered.

"No." Soul replied through gritted teeth. "You should be resting!"

I blinked, my heart fluttering a few times.

"N-Not that I fucking care _that _much." Soul rambled awkwardly, looking around. "Just...go lay down or something.

"Soul?" But he was already shoving me out of the kitchen.

I walked back to my bedroom, unsure of what he was about to do. Honestly? It's not like Soul Eater knows how to cook despite his name. Not that I knew...it's just I'd never seen him cooking before, in a kitchen. He'd be the one cracking the sexist jokes. I considered one but as I lay in my bed and listened to the pots and pans cluttering together I could only smile at his effort.

I considered finishing the chapter in my story but I was entertained by looking at Soul's shadow pacing around the kitchen trying to figure out where everything was. I would've told him but wanted him to ask first. Besides, it was way funny watching him scrambling around the kitchen.

After thirty minutes he appeared in my bedroom, as if it was his own house, with a tray of soup. If he had been a little more expressive maybe I could've seen the blush on his cheeks. The sight of him made me giggle, which turned into coughs.

"Just shut the hell up..." He growled. "What're you blushing about?"

Me...blushing? I wasn't blushing. I brought my hand up and felt my forehead. It was burning up. I'd hardly noticed but in the last half hour my temperature had rapidly rose.

Soul set the soup on my lap and then sat on my bed. We stared at each other with perplexed expressions and then suddenly his eyes softened.

"You okay?" He asked.

My whole body shuddered at the softness of his voice, or maybe the fact that I had the chills.

"Y-Yeah..." I responded, feeling a bead of sweat drip down the side of my face.

Soul leaned over and touched me.

"You sure? You're burning up," He observed, his eyebrows knitted. "But you're shaking."

I brought the soup over to my mouth and took spoonfuls trying to ignore his concern and make him worry less. It wasn't working.

"Maka...Maka..." Soul repeated my name until I looked at him, my eyes drooping. "Are you _sure _you're okay?" He wondered.

I nodded, slightly weak.

"Yeah sure, go to the second cabinet to the right above the sink and grab the thermometer. I'm sure it's fine." I ordered him calmly. Surely it couldn't be anything serious. I mean, I felt pretty crappy this morning so how could this just break out into a full fever?

Soul returned with the thermometer and told me to stick out my tongue. As I did that, he put it under my tongue and into my mouth. We waited a while.

"102 degrees." Soul told me. "One more degree and we're going to the hospital."

Despite how serious he was making this seem, I just laughed.

"What?" Soul mumbled, annoyed.

"Soul..." I said in between laughs. "I'm glad you came."

I didn't even have time to worry about how weird it was that he was in my apartment. I mean, I was the one who climbed a tree in his back yard in the middle of winter.

He nodded, watching me with his blood red eyes.

My heart was beating faster and I don't know if it was because of the fever or Soul's presence.

_Shit, I may be starting to like him...that wouldn't be good. Don't listen to_ Tsubaki...

"No problem." Soul answered, still sitting on my bed. "I mean come on, it's not like a stupid worm like you could take care of yourself."

I made sure to smack him with my journal.

"Very funny, Soul _Evans_." I smirked.

He twitched.

"Very funny. _Maka_." Soul retorted.

Soul stayed at my house for hours. I tried to get him to leave many times. Not because I wanted him to be but because I felt bad. It was 8 PM when I finally got him to get out. I informed him that my papa was going to be coming home soon. Maybe an hour or so.

"Fine." Soul answered. "I just don't trust a klutz like you by yourself."

"Oh good joke.." I mumbled. "Don't get lost on your way back!" I called as he waved out the door, flipping me off. "Bastard." I chuckled.

Then it hit me though. There was no way that it was possible but it was the only conclusion I could come up with. I think that I liked Soul. Every day at least once, I replayed our kiss in my mind, trying to think of what it meant and wondered if Soul thought about it too.

The real problem now to think of is: Is it like or is it love?

* * *

><p><strong>AN: OH BAMMM! Another chapter! Hehehe. Fluff alert. *wink* but anyway, with all the cheesiness, I'm sick right now oinwoinfwoinf again. Apparently you can get sick from working hard according to my dad sounds like bs but ehhh I'm sick again for the second time this month with finals this week. Maybe I am a bit stressed but I'm more relaxed now that SUMMER IS ALMOST HERE enfqoeignwoign. Hell yes. I mean I got dance like every day but no fucking school. YESYESYESYESYES. I'm trying not to sound ghetto in my recent chapters but it might come out because I've been watching the boondocks lately;) sooo funny. but yeah I'm also making a video for this story. it'll be hardcore. but yeaaah i love my reviewers with a passssioooon *heart* soo reviewww and i'll have more motivation to update even on busy days ;)**


	23. Chapter 23

_One book in one year, written about your partner. Game on. Oh wait, they're writing about you too. [SoMa, TsuStar, KidLiz]  
><em>

_Rated M for Mature content_

_Genre: Romance, Suspense_

.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o._  
><em>

_Fiction  
><em>

_SunshinGirl09_

Maka

"Tsubaki..." I started. "I don't think it's supposed to look like this.

We both glanced down into the bowl where we'd taken turns stirring the contents.

The chunky, brown mess wasn't looking any smoother.

"More cocoa powder?" Tsubaki suggested, questioningly.

I blinked a few times, not really sure. Baking _was_ my thing but I'd never made homemade chocolate before. I thought that this was the kinda of stuff they did only in movies for Valentines Day. Normal people went out and bought chocolates wrapped in fancy foil.

"Um...sure." I answered.

We were both covered in flour and our hands were coated in the browns stickiness that was supposed to turn into chocolate.

I used my elbows to more of the cocoa powder in, trying no to get all the nastiness from my hands all over the bottle. I wasn't sure that even I wouldn't want to eat these. The puke like shape was enough to put my appetite off.

"I can't give this to Soul." I informed Tsubaki. "One, that'd be like shouting out 'I like you' and two, if it's awful, which it probably will be, I'm never gonna hear the end of it from him!" I released my hands from the beater, flailing them as if I was drowning.

Tsubaki giggled.

"Maka, he probably already knows you like him." She remarked, shaking her head and focusing on the bowl again.

I squinted.

"Oh yeah?" I challenged.

"The way you two bicker, it's like an old, married couple." She explained. "You guys are always at the same pace even though you're fighting."

I pondered over the idea, liking the sound of the 'same pace' but not liking the 'old married couple'.

"Ehh..." I moaned. "I can't even deal with him anymore."

We both returned to the bowl, still trying to smooth out the mix.

When we finished with that, we tried our best at tempering it. It was one of the hardest things I'd ever done. It looked easy but getting it to look right was really difficult. Actually it was incredibly difficult, probably because I hadn't done it before.

Tsubaki and I looked down at the mess we'd just made, rubbing the backs of our necks. We then looked at each other and shrugged. Oh well.

We poured the chocolate into molds and then put them into the freezer to harden. Once they were all in the freezer we looked at the mess again, laughing at how ridiculously bad we were at making homemade chocolate.

"God...we suck." I said clicking my tongue.

We put the radio on by the stove in my kitchen while we began to clean up.

Because it was Valentine's Day, I figured my Papa would be out and about chasing after girls, so it would be okay to make chocolates and make a mess out of the kitchen. I did not expect him to come home.

"MAKAAA!" I heard his loud voice ring through the apartment and raised an eyebrow.

He was not out raping women?

"Papa...why are you here?" I asked innocently from the kitchen, Tsubaki next to me, engulfed in our mess.

He sighed as if thinking about it.

"Nooo." He argued. "I was _buying _you something."

I tried to remember the last time he skipped women to buy _me _something.

From behind his back he pulled out a heart shaped box, on the front crappily written in Sharpie was my name.

My eyes bulged. My _dad_ bought _me _something for Valentine's Day? Was the sky purple?

Tsubaki shifted uncomfortably next to me, unsure of what to say.

I stepped forward and took the box.

"Thanks, Papa!" I exclaimed, taking the box, hoping a thong didn't happen to pop out like the last present he had gotten me.

"I see you have friends over." Papa acknowledged Tsubaki. I was about to tell him not to pounce on her but he was already leaving. What the heck was wrong with him today? I seriously wondered.

Tsubaki and I finished cleaning up the mess and by the time we were done the chocolates were finished cooling off.

Together, we opened the freezer, icy air and mist touching our faces, revealing out chocolates. They turned out to be...extremely lumpy.

"I don't think they're supposed to be chunky." I mumbled.

Why did it turn out like this?

Tsubaki shrugged.

"What it looks like doesn't matter, but the taste does." She commented.

My eye twitched.

"Tsubaki, something looking like that can't _possibly _taste good." I replied.

She didn't answer, smiling. Then she removed them from the freezer and started packing them in the paper bags we prepared.

"Tsubaki?" I wondered.

"Well we gotta hurry so we're not late." She said, pointing towards the clock which read almost noon.

"Oh dear god..." I mumbled, not realizing it took us two hours to make those.

We packed the chocolates and ran out the door. We had to bolt in order to catch the Saturday morning bus.

Everyone was meeting at the park today and Kid and Liz said they'd bring lunch. I doubted Soul and Black Star would bring anything useful because Tsubaki and I were also hauling along a blanket for everyone to sit on.

On the bus, I nervously looked down at the chocolates, wondering why on earth we were bringing them and not stopping somewhere quick to pick up ones from the store. I tried to reassure myself by thinking Soul and I weren't alone so maybe he wouldn't put all the blame on me for the awful chocolates.

We arrived at the park and saw Kid and Liz waving at us atop the hill, Patty suddenly tagging along behind them. Soul or Black Star weren't in sight. But, the hill was looking absolutely gorgeous and the weather was pretty nice for February. Around 65 degrees. My sweatshirt comfortable matched the weather.

Tsubaki and I laid out the blanket and Kid and the Thompson sisters joined us.

"Where are Soul and Black Star?" Tsubaki inquired, looking at Kid and Liz.

Liz shrugged.

"I thought they w-" She was cut off by a signature 'YAHOO!'

"I think some people just arrived." I stated, turning around to see Soul and Black Star, striding toward us. Soul wearing jeans and a wife beater, a baseball cap top it off. Black Star wore the same, minus the hat.

My sweatshirt was now becoming too hot all of a sudden.

"Yo, Worm!" Soul greeted me and from behind his back he pulled out a basketball. "Anyone up for a game?" He gestured towards the stone basketball court at the bottom of the hill.

I'd never played basketball and wasn't interesting in Soul further harassing me more than usual.

"Aw come on, asshole."I argued. "I came to eat...food."

Soul shrugged.

"How about a game first?" He looked at everybody else.

What? Soul rejecting food? For something like basketball? This was..

Everyone else seemed up for it so I couldn't argue now. All I could do is pout the whole trip down the hill to the court.

"Come on, flat lands." Soul addressed me. "When you're mad your face gets more screwed up than usual."

I was about to tear him apart when he suddenly took off his baseball cap and stuffed it on my head, examining it. Then he turned it so it was backwards.

"There." He said. "Now you're game. C'mon, I'll even let you be on my team." He smirked turning around, while I angrily followed him over there and we divided into teams.

It was Soul, Me, Patty and Liz versus Kid, Black Star and Tsubaki.

"But that's uneven." I informed Soul. "Perfect, so I can leave."

Soul grabbed my collar, addressing everyone, "It's okay, Maka here counts as a negative one on the team so we're even."

Black Star burst into a fit of laughter and I almost tackled him. Kid seemed highly annoyed by the fact that the teams weren't even but Liz was able to calm him down, along with Patty. They both seemed to know his disorder back and forth now.

"I'll show you _negative one_." I muttered under my breath, pissed.

At the start of the game, I was very confused because people on opposite teams were passing the ball to each other but once it happened a few more times I realized it wasn't much and just happened to happen. And once I got used to the game, my analytical mind taking in everything, I knew what to do.

Black Star was about to go for a slam dunk but I reached up and tapped the ball out of his hands and bolted down the court, dribbling. Now, my dribbling kind of sucked but managing not to double dribble plus my speed helped. However, my shot was great.

I chucked the ball into the hoop with force, blinking. Then I turned around, realizing I just went totally hardcore, all out.

I could've sworn I heard Soul mutter, "Legendary Maka for nothing". No one else would understand that.

He came over and fist bumped with me.

"Okay, so you're not as much of a NAF as I thought." He said.

I stuck my tongue out at him. Not wanting to inform him that my brain was really doing most of the work.

Liz

"Liz, pass!" Kid called to me.

I tossed the ball over to him and _tried _not to think that just last night we kissed. I wasn't sure if Patty knew or not. She didn't seem to notice our strange behavior but I was still suspicious. She could be sneaky if she wanted to.

But Kid. Damn. For such a pretty, rich, spoiled brat he _knew _how to kiss a girl. I still didn't know how to react. Did this mean we were going out? After what he said to me? It could've. But that would be weird, going out and living at the same house.

Of course, the fact the we were _living _in the _same _house probably meant that something was _bound _to happen between us. I didn't know it'd be like this. Not that I minded. However, he was shorter than me. But I thought that I was the only one who understood him. I know his OCD now better than anyone else now and I can help him much better than others.

I glanced over at Maka and Soul and realized something. They were always on the same wavelength and although he acted like he hated her, he was always hovering over her, stepping slightly ahead of her when walking. She was too engrossed in their conversations to ever notice. It almost looked like he was in constant bodyguard mode.

They needed to go out soon. Honestly. It was like they were made for each other. Soul mates.

"Liz!" The ball crashed into my forehead and the next thing I knew, Kid and Patty were both hovering over me. Kid's lips were much too close to mine for comfort. If they lingered there any longer...

I pushed myself to sit up, dazed.

"Sorry guys..." I mumbled. "Zoned out there."

Maka appeared next to me nodding.

"Probably because you're so _hungry_." She remarked suggestively, motioning towards the top of the hill.

"Ughh fine we can eat, fat ankles." Soul said. "Well, I'm hungry anyway."

Maka looked down at my extremely skinny ankles, not really angered because well...her ankles weren't fat.

"Running out of insults!" She cried, chasing after Soul up the hill.

I chuckled. They needed to end up together.

Kid's warm hand suddenly appeared by my face and I took it and he pulled me up, our eyes locking as if both reminiscing over the kiss. Then we broke our stares and silently walked up the hill.

Soul

I ducked out of the way, assuming Maka's fist would be flying towards my face sometime soon. I was close, her foot.

She slipped suddenly because her foot, that was supposed to connect with my head, landed on the blanket and the blanket slid against the grass, therefore pushing Maka forward.

I reached to catch her but only managed to fall down with her.

"Ugh." She moaned.

That was when I realized that she smelled good. Fuck. I mean...whatever.

I rolled off her and she sat up dizzily.

"Geez." She mumbled.

I rolled my eyes.

"Let's not forget the one who tried to kick me and slipped." I told her.

We then both looked down and I realized I was still gripping her wrist. Then I suddenly let go.

"Just give me my hat back." I told her but she held it down.

"No." She argued. "Now that you insulted my ankles you're not getting it back."

"Stubborn." I muttered but then realized that everyone was watching us fight.

"Yo lovebirds," said Liz. "Can we eat?"

Of course she completely neglected the fact that Tsubaki and Black Star were holding hands and playing with each others hair because she was calling Maka and I lovebirds while they were ... yeah.

The food was all laid out on the blankets and damn I was hungry. Liz's sandwiches were amazing. Brie and Ham on french bread? Freaking amazing. Of course being the fat ass I am, I had chips to go along with it.

Basically we were all pigging out.

Even Maka. I knew she wasn't anorexic anymore but fuck...she could _eat_. And for some reason I kinda liked that.

"Crap..." Liz muttered.

"What is it?" Maka questioned, swallowing a bit of bread.

"I forgot to bring drinks." Liz answered, frowning as she searched through the basket that she, Kid and Patty brought.

Everyone moaned.

"C'MON SIS!" Patty bellowed. "Geeeez. Forgetting the drinks. Tsk. Tsk." But Patty's cheeks were rosy and she was smiling like crazy so the lecture seemed more like a ...suggestion?

Maka only laughed.

"Oh it's fine." She said. "I can quickly run a few blocks to go get some drinks."

The girls stood up and I wondered what the hell was wrong with everyone. Allowing her to go alone?

"Well, I'll go with." I spoke up, not really fancying the idea of Maka wandering around alone, though I was sure she did it a lot. "I know that weakling over there can't carry back seven drinks by herself.

Maka narrowed her eyes, as if not believing the reason.

"Tch." Was her only reply.

We walked down the hill and onto the sidewalk, heading for the downtown area to see if there was some sort of convenience store or something like that. She probably knew where she was going.

"Soul you don't have to." She grumbled.

"Have to what?" I questioned, confused.

"Come with." She answered. "I'm perfectly able to pay by myself."

So that's what this was about.

Her speed increased and I jogged to catch up with the hormonal girl.

"That's not it..." I growled back, annoyed that she would think that way.

Maka stopped walking, catching me by surprise.

"Oh yeah? Then why?" She loudly asked, staring me straight in the face. Her green eyes...

I flung my hands up, not wanting to deal with her.

"I don't know." I remarked, an eyebrow raised. "Now hurry up, slowpoke."

I tugged at her elbow, trying to keep my cool with her.

We stopped at a small store a few blocks from the park. I opened the door for her.

"_Ladies _first." I told her.

She scowled at me.

Maybe I shouldn't have sarcastically said that. Eh. Too fucking bad that I was just a sarcastic guy.

Maka

Soul offered to pay part of it but I refused to let him and when he accepted so easily, I wondered why he was actually here.

We walked out, with a bag full of fruity drinks. I turned to him with curiosity.

"Soul why did you come?" I asked him, trying to get him to stop. I had to grab him to get him to come back with me.

"What do you mean?" He inquired.

"You didn't have to." I shifted my weight, making it clear I could easily carry the bag of drinks.

Soul rolled his eyes up to the sky, annoyed.

"Because you're weak." He repeated.

I refused to accept that as an answer and held up the grocery bag so he could see that I was having no problems.

"Obviously not." I answered.

Soul's eyes flashed angrily.

"Not like that." He argued, taking me by surprise and grabbing my shoulders, pulling me around to a secluded corner, pushing me up against a wall.

My eyebrows furrowed, confused by his actions.

"What would you do in this situation?" he questioned, now holding my wrists with a very tight grip.

Well, if it were anyone but him I would've beat them up but now that I was looking at Soul more intently, I started to realize where he was getting at. He didn't think that I could protect myself.

I tried to prove him wrong by attempting to break free but it was seemingly impossible.

Soul said nothing but was still looking at me seriously.

"I would...fight..." I trailed off when his red eyes were caught up with my green ones.

Looking at him, so serious, so worried...it made my knees weak. They gave out and the bag of drinks dropped to the ground.

Soul's hands moved from my wrists to my back pulling me upwards so I didn't hit the ground, however, before I knew it, the space between our faces was closed. Soul's lips tasted the same but now there was a fire inside of my body that was blazing, making me even more weak.

I clutched onto his arms, feeling myself almost too weak to stand and his grip around my waist and back became more supportive.

Our lips worked together and I realized this might've been the best feeling I had ever experienced.

All I could think about was Soul. Soul. Soul.

"S-Soul..." I stammered as our lips parted and I gripped onto his arm, almost falling again.

"Easy there, Worm." Soul told me, steadying my body so I didn't collapse.

"Th-the drinks." I motioned downwards and he picked them up and took my arm, taking me out from the corner that we were once secretly enclosed in.

We started walking back to the park and all I could think about was how could he _not _be my boyfriend? He already kissed me twice and showed his overly-protective side...I seriously did not understand this boy.

When we returned, Tsubaki must've noticed I was beet red because she giggled, but tried to stifle it.

We sat down and awkwardly handed out the drinks and that's when Tsubaki pulled out the chocolates, passing them out.

I buried my face.

"You made these?" Soul's smug face appeared close to mine with the disfigured chocolate in his hand.

Bastard. Acting like nothing happened.

"_And _Tsubaki." I had to make sure that she got some of the hate too.

"But you were probably in charge." Soul protested.

Everyone laughed. Except me. I wasn't laughing.

A minute ago I was picturing Soul being my husband. Now I was picturing him as my slave.

"Just...shut up and eat it." I growled at him.

Soul started to pray before he popped it into his mouth, chewing.

One eyebrow was raised and he had a perplexed expression.

"Soul? You look confused." Tsubaki observed.

"Yeah." Soul said in between chews. "This shit actually tastes really good."

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note: OHHHHHHHH It's getting hot between Maka and Soul. Can anyone predict what'll happen next? ;) IT'S SUMMMMMERRR! Ayaaa...review? Pleaseee<strong>


	24. Chapter 24

_One book in one year, written about your partner. Game on. Oh wait, they're writing about you too. [SoMa, TsuStar, KidLiz]  
><em>

_Rated M for Mature content_

_Genre: Romance, Suspense_

.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o._  
><em>

_Fiction  
><em>

_SunshinGirl09_

Maka

_It's not a date! _I furiously texted, my fingers going rapid fire.

_Tsubaki: Date. Date. Date. Date. Date._

I sighed, adjusting my book bag, tripping down the steps of the bus, hoping not to run into anything in the process of texting and walking at the same time. I barely made it off without landing face first on the ground. I should've taken a taxi.

_Me: I don't know what you're talking about._

I passed a few book stores and was tempted to go in...then I remembered where I was going.

_Tsubaki: He **agreed **to meet with you. Not only that but at a_ **_library_.**

I shook my head, laughing out loud.

_Me: Yeah. I don't even think Soul reads._

I turned the corner, still managing not to get run over by a car.

_Tsubaki: See? It's a date because he doesn't care about **where **he's going because he's with **you**_.

I pondered over the idea for a second then decided it was too sissy. Soul didn't think that way. I knew it. Maybe he finally wanted to get our Japanese Lit. assignment done for once. And then thinking about that, I suddenly wanted to read it. Curiosity took over my mind as I pondered over the things that could be in it and my imagination ran away with me.

Then I remembered Tsubaki.

_Me: Yeah...I don't think so._

I'd probably be on suicide watch if I read it. The beginning at least. Because I knew at the beginning of the school year that Soul and I weren't the _closest _of friends if you may ask. Actually probably enemies. So maybe I'd just skip the first couple months of writing which, for Soul, could've been a few pages.

I honestly thought that I wrote too much. It would be what most people called 'trying hard'.

Thinking about this even more, I get seriously curious. Oh I was curious. Yeah. I _needed _to know what was in his book about me. Maybe Marie would let us read them at the end of the year. Oh god. What if we all got to read each others?

Suddenly, I wasn't so curious. Black Star's...it would probably be the most messed up thing I'd ever read. Maybe not necessarily the contents but the grammar...I could imagine the entire print in all caps...representing a loud and booming narrator.

Dear god...

The library appeared around the corner and I entered, peering my head through first. Soul wasn't in sight at first. For a second, I thought that he ditched and I go stood up but Soul would consider that _uncool_.

I would too.

"Yo!"

"Jesus!" I cried, jumping around, meeting the white haired freak who had placed his hands over my mouth.

"We're in a library, genius." He smirked, purposely pushing my buttons.

My eye twitched, looking at him with distaste but the feeling soon faded when he took my hand and led me to a table. Librarians were already glaring at us because of my sudden outburst in the middle of the room.

"I think we need to talk." Soul said when we were both seated.

"Oh you think?" I questioned, setting my book bag down and looking back at him.

We had a little glare session before our expressions relaxed.

"You kinda kissed me." I finally started, breaking the silence.

Soul gave me an amused expression.

"Yeah. I did." He answered, giving me this unreadable expression.

"Don't you think that could be a problem?" I continued, not wanting to say 'a problem because we're not going out'.

Soul seemed to notice that I didn't want to say it. He obviously knew full well what I meant,

"Oh? In what way?" Soul pressed, the smirk never leaving.

Eye twitch once more.

"Soul, we're not going out_._" I told him through gritted teeth.

"Thank you, Sherlock." Soul coolly replied.

I was ready to get up and leave if he didn't want to take me seriously. Because I didn't want to be someone to Soul who he only wanted to kiss and mess around with. I didn't want to be what those other girls were to my dad.

I raised an eyebrow.

"Let me tell you this right now." I told him. "I'm _not _your fuck buddy."

Soul's amused smirk quickly faded at that. His teeth were now clenched.

"Why would you think that?" He growled at me.

I folded my arms and rested them on the table, still unafraid of making eye contact with his blood red eyes.

"Because you freaking kissed me!" I argued.

"And?" Soul challenged.

I thought my fist was shaking like an earthquake.

"Soul..." My voice was dangerously calm. "You're supposed to kiss people you love."

There was a deadly electric shock going on between us.

"Okay...so what's the problem then?" Soul demanded, standing up.

"Well the problem is-" I stopped, processing what he said. "Wait what?"

Soul didn't respond. He only stared at me.

Did he just...did he..

"Maka, do you know the reason I asked you here?" Soul inquired.

I narrowed my eyes, trying to decipher his actions.

"Not really." I answered, recalling my texting conversation with Tsubaki.

Soul only rolled his eyes, looking at the ceiling.

"I wanted to _ask _you to be my girlfriend." He said, avoiding eye contact now.

...But ...before I could respond.

"Don't ask my why I would want a flat chested, hormonal, overreacting, nerdy, bookworm girl like you..." He said trailing off, earning another glare.

I was too overwhelmed to even have a comeback though. All I could do is stare at him. I'd already decided that I liked him and I didn't know if it was love or not. Was it? Could it be?

There was some comforting aspect about him that Kyou never had but I didn't know what to do.

"Maka?" Soul waved a hand in front of my face.

"U-uhh.." I stammered, unable to speak.

"I just told you I don't hate you anymore." Soul told me as a summary.

I shook my head. Right.

"I mean..." I continued. "You _are _an insensitive, mean, cold, sarcastic, twisted bastard. However, I think...you just do that to be cool and on the inside you're actually _not _a dick-"

Soul cleared his throat.

"So..." I went on. "I'll accept."

Soul's arrogant smirk returned.

"On one condition." I added.

"Oh yeah?"

I glanced around the library making sure that certain people weren't here.

"You _never _go out looking for Kyou, no matter what you hear. Got it?" I said.

Soul gave me a confused expression.

"Why would I do that?" He asked.

"It doesn't matter," I answered. "Just don't."

Soul blinked a few times.

"Okay, I won't." He said, regaining his normal smirk again.

Soul

I can't believe she actually agreed to go out with me. I wasn't normally good with this kind of stuff but the fact that she _wasn't _my girlfriend was driving me insane. I didn't even know what the fuck was coming over me but I didn't think I could be calm unless she was labeled as mine. _My _girlfriend.

What was it that I saw in her anyway? Everything I said about her before had been true. We were total opposites and I didn't know what could possibly come over me so much that I'd ask her to be my girlfriend.

Fuck. I did it so politely too. I guess saying 'Bitch you're mine' would be uncool wouldn't it?

I shook my head, trying to clear my thoughts. But, I couldn't help but feel extremely happy at the thought she was my girlfriend now. I didn't have to worry about shit. Actually, now we had an excuse to hang out. For some reason, she's the only person that I could hang out with normally. She was the only one who truly understood me to a high degree.

And why? I didn't even know. It would probably always remain a mystery to me, whatever spell she had cast on me.

Truthfully, the only reason I stopped cutting was because of her. I hadn't cut in months. Sometimes it hurt inside, not being able to cut and it is something that not everyone understand. Covering up emotional pain with physical pain. However, thinking about her is enough to make me put the knife down. I once even drew an M on my wrist with permanent marker to stop me.

I couldn't bare the thought of her hurting because of something she didn't even do. But I knew she always felt the guilt even though it had nothing to do with her.

It didn't even occur to me at first that I wanted to date her more for her personality than body. Honestly, that never happened to me. While at times she seemed gorgeous, like at the Christmas party with her delicate face and marvelous legs, I needed her emotionally.

Dammit. I was becoming too soft for this.

But sorry for Black Star, even as my best male friend, I didn't think he had all of these qualities.

And looking at Maka now, made me even more happy that she was my girl.

Of course I wasn't going to tell her all of this. Maybe later. But I liked to push her buttons and watch her squirm.

"So, Worm. " I addressed her. "You're in your natural habitat." I gestured towards all the books. "Did you want to get one?"_ Eh. Maybe I'd be a little nice by offering her a book. Wouldn't want to break up in a minute._

She gave me a look as if she didn't believe that I would ever ask her that. And then her face lit up like the world suddenly became a much brighter place to live in. Obviously because of me...not from the books or anything.

Maka sprang up and galloped after the books like a little girl. Well, she was a little girl.

Liz

This was awkward.

Sometimes I wondered why I loved Patty.

"But I saw you guys!" Patty argued loudly.

Kid's face turned bright red and I wanted to turn away, afraid my cheeks were the same shades as his were.

"D-Don't know what you're talking about, Patty." Kid countered, ignoring the bumbling blonde.

Patty narrowed her eyes.

Then she tried to interact our kiss scene.

It was probably one of the most embarrassing moments in my life. Ever.

"Patty," I grumbled. "Wanna STOP?"

She just giggled loudly, not understanding how awkward she was making everything,

Kid and I had decided not to date for Patty's sake and also the fact that we were all living under the same roof but the awkward tension _and _sexual tension was getting to be too much for me to stand.

People don't even know...

"Ehhh..." She moaned.

I wasn't sure if she was still acting out Kid and I or if she was just moaning.

"Know what? Let's all go get ice cream!" I suggested.

Kid clapped his hands together.

"Wonderful idea." He confirmed, catching my eye.

"Yay!" Patty was pleased with the idea, now forgetting Kid and I momentarily.

We climbed into his expensive, black convertible and as he drove, I couldn't help but notice how _good _he looked driving the freaking car.

_Calm down. Patty is in the vehicle too._

We got to the nearest ice cream shop within five minutes. It was a cute little shop covered in pastel, ice cream colors, the walls decorated with sprinkle patterns and pictures of their greatest dishes were hung up.

Then we all ordered. I got strawberry ice cream, Kid got a dipped cone and Patty got a ...thing. I don't really know. Multiple ice cream flavors with every possible topping...

Kid received his cone and glared at it. At first I thought that they'd given him the wrong flavor. Then I saw it. One side had a dried drip of chocolate on it...and the other didn't.

I turned to no one in particular mumbling, "I should've known this would happen."

So for the next half hour Patty and I calmed Kid down, assuring him that if he simply took a napkin and wiped it off it would be perfectly fine. He didn't like the idea, claiming it was already tainted. However, we pretended to get a new one but instead we wiped the drip off and he was perfectly okay. What he didn't know wouldn't kill him.

After that, instead of going home, we decided to shop around. It was crazy, the stuff we bought. Living with a boy who could spend unlimited money _did _have its benefits sometimes...

Patty had an obsession with crazy hats and in fact, we both bought cute cowboy hates while Kid was obsessing over rings and ties. For a while, it felt like we were all truly family and it was _such _a great feeling.

Even when we got home we were still high off of fun. We started making popcorn and watching dumb kids movies that I normally wouldn't even look at but we just sat on the couch making fun of every scene until we couldn't laugh anymore.

It was great. And it also made Patty totally forget about Kid and I.

Until we were having a dance party and Kid and I were holding hands a little too long.

"Ehhh you guysss!" Patty sang, holding up our hands.

Oh god. Here we go again.

Tsubaki

I laughed out loud, reading Maka's newest text.

_Maka: So...apparently Soul and I are dating now._

"What's so funny?" Black Star wondered, confused by my sudden outburst.

We were sitting at a sandwich shop and Black Star was devouring his food, crazily.

"Oh nothing," I answered, trying to stifle another laugh as I replied.

_Me: I'm surprised it didn't happen sooner._

"Soul and Maka are going out." I added, making sure he knew.

"YAHOOO! GET SOME SOUL!" Black Star cried, attracting attention.

I glared at his immaturity, surprised at how...crazy he could really be. Sometimes I seriously wondered about him...

"Err...sorry Tsubaki." Black Star apologized. "I know my godly voice can be really loud sometimes.

I actually really didn't care that much. There was no need to apologize though I kind of loved it when he was sweet like that.

"Would you like anything else?" A waiter asked Black Star.

"Hell yes..." He mumbled seriously, looking at the menu. "How about a turkey on Focaccia sandwich?"

The waiter looked like he was trying _not _to roll his eyes. He quickly scribbled the order and looked at me.

"I don't want anything else." I said. But then Black Star gave me this look that said 'weak!' so I sighed. "How about some dessert then?" I hadn't planned on getting any dessert but my boyfriend seemed to think otherwise, wanting another eating partner to eat with. Oh dear.

Black Star nodded at me approvingly. Oh the things he made me do. I couldn't even put it into words. I'd heard of boyfriends who encouraged their girlfriends to diet for their body but Black Star was always trying to get me to eat more. I could only imagine what was about to happen between the two lovebird Maka and Soul.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note: Dance. Ugh. I refuse. Two recitals on Saturday...worse thing ever and then the super long spring show yesterday. I don't even know how I survive. Something is wrong with me. But anywayyyy. Soul and Maka...are going out! BOOOOYAAAAAAAAAAAAAA! This is like the calm before the storm though...so be prepared. Um. I'm kinda...hungry. Maybe I'll go eat some food and then have a dance party. Ahahaa. F(x) came out with a new album and it's the best thing ever. Don't know if any of you are kpop fans but if you are...IT'S AMAZINGGGG! "ELECTRIC SHOCK!" Yeah...soo...review lovely people? Thanks ;)<strong>


	25. Chapter 25

_One book in one year, written about your partner. Game on. Oh wait, they're writing about you too. [SoMa, TsuStar, KidLiz]  
><em>

_Rated M for Mature content_

_Genre: Romance, Suspense_

.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o._  
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_Fiction  
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_SunshinGirl09_

Maka

There are benefits to having Soul Eater Evans as your boyfriend. No one bothers you anymore. The brief instances where I had been criticized for being a nerd, the person would got shot down by Soul. "I'm the only one allowed to call her a nerd." Or Ox Ford harassing me in Chemistry class. "Maka! You're so stupid! 3.5 oz not 3!" Earns a glare from Soul. You're also never alone. At night if I was tired or lonely, I could always call him. He was like a shoulder I could lean on. Having him around now was like a huge sigh of relief. I didn't have to carry problems around on my own. I could vent to him. Even if his answers weren't even the least bit helpful, it felt better knowing that he knew.

"Soul! I'm so worried about my math grade!"

"Ehh...pre-calculus. Probably better than my C+ so don't worry."

Above all, Soul was the only guy I could ever trust. My father was close, but he was too unstable to trust. The only thing I trusted in my father was his love for me. But I didn't trust his ability to avoid alcohol and other women. However, he had been getting better lately for some reason...

We sat by each other at lunch and stole each others food. Black Star and Tsubaki kind of did it lovingly. Soul and I made it a competition though. We tried to do it without the other knowing it but we always ended up getting caught somehow.

I think in some ways we acted like we were still in the 'trying-to-get-the-other-to-like-you' and 'hard-to-get' stage. But then other times we acted like lovers. I kinda liked it. The problem with boyfriends and girlfriends these days was that once they started going out they stopped doing the things they did to get you. I could say one thing, Soul became nicer, but not that much nicer.

"C'mon give it back!" I groaned.

Soul held up my book, wiggling it in the air, an amused smirk plastered on his face.

"Oh yeah? Come on and get it." He challenged me, raising it higher.

I narrowed my eyes.

"That's not fair, Soul _Evans_!" I cried. "You're taller than me."

I swatted at the book and he moved it.

"Guess you're gonna have to jump." He informed me, getting a kick out of this.

I scrunched my nose.

"You bastard." I growled. "You're still gonna move it!"

I swatted again.

He held the book back and moved closer to my face, holding it farther away.

"Well I guess you're gonna have to fight for it!" He laughed.

"Maybe I will!" I countered, balling my fist, ready to punch him in the shoulder.

Before I could make contact, he caught my wrist and spun me around once, as if we were dancing and then pulled me close into a kiss.

Our lips moved in sync, tongues dancing and he slowly brought my wrist down and set his hand on my waist. Finally I wrapped my arms around his neck, one of my hands running through his hair, causing him to moan slightly.

We stayed there for a minute or so, enjoying the moment.

And then I snatched the book from his other hand and broke away from the kiss, stepping back. I was the one smirking now.

"You little demon..." Soul mumbled, however he was grinning evilly again. "You gonna pay up?"

I licked my lips, playfully.

"Maybe." I remarked, stepping back again.

We were in my room, hanging out and I wanted to read my book but Soul...had other plans and now I see what he really wanted to do. I guess reading could wait a little while. There were other things to do.

And that's when my phone buzzed.

Soul was about to reach for it but I snatched it quickly, glaring at him.

"Yeah nice try." I told him. "Asshole." I stuck my tongue out at him and answered.

"Maka!" It was Tsubaki.

"What?" I asked, suddenly concerned at the tone of her voice.

Soul moved closer to me with worry, seeing the expression on my face.

"I need...I need..." Tsubaki whispered. "FOR YOU TO COME TO THE BEACH!"

I almost fell over but Soul's hands were on my shoulders, keeping me upright.

"What the heck?" I said into the phone. "I thought someone was dying."

"I _am _dying." Tsubaki remarked. "I _cannot _be at the beach alone with Black Star. I want to sit out in the sun and he wants to go in the water. Can you come? I need another girl here!"

I looked out my window at the warm, May air. It was around 75 degrees. I guess that seemed fine for swimming.

"Ugh...yeah I guess." I tried to sound annoyed but I kind of wanted to go.

"Thank you!"

_Click._

"What was that about?" Soul inquired, now sitting on my bed.

"Tsubaki wants us to go to the beach." I informed him.

"Now?" He asked, looking at the clock that read 1:00 pm.

"Yeah," I answered. "She's already there."

Soul moaned.

"Ugh...requires energy." He complained. "Whatever."

I sighed.

"Guess I'll meet you there?" I asked, opening my closet.

Soul got up to leave and go to his house to change.

"Yeah...I guess." He replied. "Mmm...energy..."

I rolled my eyes at him, knowing he definitely had enough energy from the way he was kissing me before.

Tsubaki

Okay. I might've exaggerated my problem. It wasn't the fact that Black Star and I wanted to do different things. He didn't try to make me come into the water. Well anymore. At first he tried but then he stopped. However, right now I just can't watch him in the water. It's too distracting. I didn't expect him to be so fit and attractive. I was supposed to be relaxing in the sun with my eyes closed but with Black Star shirtless, running around in the water, I was far from being relaxed in my seat. Ugh. Having-a-10th-grader-assassin-as-your-boyfriend problems.

So I had to call in reinforcements. Maka to the rescue. She would surely get me to focus.

"Eh Tsubaki?" Black Star questioned, coming closer. "We got any food?"

Oh my god.

He was dripping wet and-

I stopped myself. I'd been dating him for months. I should've been past that stage.

"Y-yeah..." I said, rolling over in the sand to grab the chip bag.

"Yo, you okay?" He asked, taking a seat next to me and feeling my forehead.

"Y-Yep." I replied, handing him the chips as fast as possible.

He took them and started to eat, vegged out next to me. His abs were too distracting for my liking and I had to start eating chips also to distract myself, wishing Maka would hurry up and save me.

Finally, my savior arrived.

"Maka!" I called, seeing my best friend arrive in a baby pink bikini that was decorated with the pattern of Hawaiian flowers.

I was wearing a navy blue bikini with white lining, while Black Star was wearing teal swim trunks.

"Is Soul coming?" I questioned.

Maka jogged over, finding a spot next to me, laying out a towel and taking out some drinks, handing one to me.

"Yep," She replied. "Some time."

Then she glanced over at Black Star suspiciously and then to me.

"I thought he was in the water." She said, raising an eyebrow.

Black Star swallowed down a fistful of chips.

"I was," He said. "But then I decided to get some food with my girl." Then he put on that adorable smile and put his arm around me, causing my heart to flutter. Honestly. I'd been his girlfriend forever and still felt this way around him. Geez.

Maka started to look around for something.

"I swear that I brought it...but..." She trailed off.

"Hey, Baka!" A voice rang from above her. "Forget something?"

Soul walked towards us, holding the sunscreen bottle Maka had been searching for.

She squinted looking at him, then placed big sunglasses over her eyes.

"Jerk." She looked like she considered snatching it from him but then thoughtfully sat down.

I giggled watching the two. They were always so funny to observe.

Maka started to take a swig of her Sparkling Ice (c) when she suddenly yelped, jumping up.

Cold sunscreen was dripping down her back.

She whipped her head around, facing Soul who held the open sunblock bottle, casually looking away and smirking. She made sure to chop his head with a random book from her bag for that.

Maka then came back and laid down with me.

"Go do something boyish." We both told the guys, who glanced at each other and shrugged. Then they walked to the water to go play some violent game that involved drowning each other.

I couldn't help but notice a scar running down Soul's chest. It had immediately caught my attention but I didn't want to say anything about it. I wasn't sure if Maka knew what it was all about either but like I said, I decided not to press.

"Man this sun feels good." Maka mumbled. "Too bad Liz and Patty couldn't come. Or Kid."

I looked over at Maka.

"They couldn't?" I wondered.

"Yeah I called Liz on the way here and she couldn't." Maka answered. "Something was going on that involved a fit of giggles."

I just rolled my eyes.

"Something's going on between Kid and Liz." I stated.

Maka nodded.

"Definitely." She said. "Don't know what...but it's something."

"We should totally find out sometime." I continued. "But, not nosily. If you know what I mean."

"Yeah I-" Maka was cut off by a volleyball landing on her face. "Soul!" She screeched.

Soul

My girlfriend's expression was priceless. But she kinda looked in pain. So I guessed I had to go over and help her.

I stalked over to her and wrapped my arms around her bare waist, pulling her up and examining her head.

"Okay?" I asked, stroking her hair. But I knew it was pissing her off. Half the reason I was doing. Of course I did actually care too.

Maka looked at me, frowning. I imagine fire burning in her eyes but I couldn't see them because they were hidden behind her shades.

"C'mon let's play volleyball." I suggested.

Maka continued frowning.

"Isn't that a girl sport?" She asked me. "Careful, you might lose your manhood." She warned.

I pulled her up, patting her head.

"Shouldn't you be watching out for _your _womanhood?" I asked.

_Chop._

My head was already throbbing from her last attack. And I thought that I was being too nice.

"Whatever," She mumbled. However she followed me.

Maka turned around. "That means you too Tsubaki!" She called.

Tsubaki grumbled and got up following us to the volleyball net where Black Star was already waiting, doing a warm up jog around the net.

"Girls vs Guys?" Maka suggested when we arrived, glaring at me.

"Fine by me." I answered. "If you two wanna die."

Tsubaki was now joining Maka with the glaring.

"Oh yeah?" She said. "I don't think so!"

Black Star started to speech about how he could be on his own team against all of us and still win so the girls didn't stand a chance but they weren't listening. They were huddled up and preparing.

"What do you think they're plotting?" I asked Black Star, who wasn't paying attention to them.

"Come on," He said. "They're girls. They don't stand a chance."

I wasn't so sure anymore. I was now remembering Maka's story about the gang. She had stamina, speed and the intelligence to win a battle where she was outnumbered by men. This type of volleyball game with her...had to be taken seriously.

Our prides were at stake here.

"Alright!" Tsubaki cheered. "Everyone ready?"

She tossed the ball to Maka, who still had her shades on.

We all nodded.

"Start!"

Maka served to ball furiously, as if it was burning across the sky over the net, Black Star made a diving save for it but he bounced the ball out of bounds. His hands looked as if they tried to bump as baseball rather than a volleyball.

Jesus. Maka was scary sometimes.

Maka

I was determined _not _to lose this. The boys didn't know me. While I _did _play volleyball in Junior High, I wasn't the star. However, I had a mean serve and crazy strength for a girl hidden under these skinny arms.

Tsubaki was the volleyball star though. She had the great technique and bumps and sets. With my agility we couldn't fail. I think Soul and Black Star were realizing it too. Well, Soul mainly. Black Star was only shocked to find out he sucked at volleyball. While his speed always brought him to the ball he couldn't do anything with it. The smart thing to do was lightly bump it to Soul, who actually knew how to hit it to the other side but of course, the two were best friends but they sucked at teamwork.

It was really amusing to watch them fail.

When it was twenty to four Tsubaki and I decided it was probably time to stop.

Soul was fine with that but Black Star didn't want to accept defeat.

It took a whole hour to calm Black Star again and even after we had all settled down he was still freaking out.

That's when we decided it was time to take a dip in the ocean. I managed to get dunked a few times by Soul. However, I didn't necessarily mind considering the dunk sessions also consisted of underwater kisses.

We all splashed like crazy as if we were little children and I started to think about how horrible the beginning of the year had started. The whole gang incident was still fresh in my mind, my father was at his worst and Soul was my enemy. Tsubaki wasn't really close to me either but now...it seemed so different. The 6 of us and maybe even Patty were inseparable.

This is what having friends was all about.

After the beach we decided to walk back together instead of taking the bus. Soul kindly offered to carry my towel and bag though I could've done without the 'cuz your weak' but hey, free bag boy.

We parted ways but Soul insisted on walking me home. Now that we were alone, the even softer side of him came out and he held onto my hand. Once we got to my apartment complex we stopped and he gave me a good bye kiss before finally parting with me.

"See ya later, Wormie." He said, a mischievous grin on his face.

"Bye..." I whispered, almost falling over.

I think I was in love.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note: Ohhhhh some flufffiller chapter. Yesss I am into the summer right now XD So anyway...gotta go to dance now. Ugh last night we did pilates...my body is in extreme pain. Sooo review? Yess pleasseeee. :D**


	26. Chapter 26

_One book in one year, written about your partner. Game on. Oh wait, they're writing about you too. [SoMa, TsuStar, KidLiz]  
><em>

_Rated M for Mature content_

_Genre: Romance, Suspense_

.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o._  
><em>

_Fiction  
><em>

_SunshinGirl09_

Maka

The raindrops dripped down my window sill and I watched them slide down. My bed was feeling more warm and more comforting than it had a minute ago and suddenly I didn't want to ever get up. Funny the way rain could play mind games like that.

I missed Soul. I had the urge to call him but my phone was far away. On the nightstand.

"God, I'm lazy." I muttered, rolling over but then stopping. Probably should let him rest. I hadn't seen him though in a few days. Too many to go by without my best friend. I also left a bunch of books at his house that I needed to grab. There were _definitely _needed in order to finish my homework.

It was already the end of May and we needed to wrap up our stories. I still needed to know a little bit more. Soul never exactly told me his piano story the night of the Christmas party. We got so immersed in my story and then he left and well, we never exactly talked about him. I was determined to get it out of the the asshole if it was the last thing I did.

I still didn't know about his mom much. I'd met her a few times, being at his house more than once. However, I was under the impression that she wasn't fond of me. The only words we ever exchanged were words of greetings and, once, our names. Other than that we never spoke. In fact, I could only recall three times seeing her and engaging in something that could hardly even be considered a conversation.

Then again, I got the feeling that I didn't really want to know her.

And then there was Soul's brother. Every time I saw him, I got the chills. He reminded me so much of Kyou yet he had parts of Soul in his face that I couldn't help but feel the chills. My two boyfriends put into one person.

Of course Kyou and I don't speak.

I sat even more still, continuing to watch the rain.

There were still many things that I didn't know. I didn't know what the gang was doing now (nor did I care). I didn't know that whole truth about Soul's family (as he didn't know mine either). I didn't know about Soul's piano (though I heard him play). I, above all, didn't know why I loved Soul.

What was there to like about him? He was my boyfriend and he still insulted me constantly. Shouldn't there be a limit? I thought boyfriends were supposed to be complimentary. Then again, when we were alone, he could be absolutely sweet. Still, his possessive and protective side shouldn't be doubted when around others. Soul made it clear that I was his around other guys.

And shouldn't I hate that? Shouldn't I hate the fact that he doesn't let me have close contact with other guys? Oh yeah. I forgot that I hate all boys. Soul was the only boy I really let in. That was probably why I loved him.

Wait no. That was proof of me loving him. Ugh. So cheesy. I can't seem to find a _reason_. I hate illogical things. Yet I don't hate him. Anymore.

"Ugh...headache..." I moaned, rolling out of bed, unable to take this thinking anymore.

Suddenly a loud clap of thunder sent shivers up my spine and was standing upright, walking into the kitchen, the tiredness zapped right out of me.

I should've noticed the smell earlier. Food.

Papa made food.

That's it.

Something was up.

"Papa..." I suspiciously poked my head over the island counter, glaring at the redheaded man.

"Yesss, Maka?" He answered, flipping an egg sunny side up and turning towards me.

I narrowed my eyes, untrustingly.

"Where's the girl?" I interrogated. "Are you getting married? Did you win the lottery?"

My dad just raised his eyebrows.

"No, dear..." He mumbled.

No fucking way. Liar. Something happened. I can see it in his happy little eyes. My father doesn't normally behave like a normal adult. Now he's making breakfast. Something was _definitely _up. This shit didn't happen on a daily basis.

"What's wrong?" He questioned, tossing the egg on a plate, narrowly avoiding burning himself. He then proceeded to add some toast to the plate. After that, my papa put the plate in front of me, following that by placing jam next to the plate.

"Nothing..." I replied, lying. Then I opened the refrigerator and found that my dad also bought orange juice. Normally _I'm _the one who has to buy it. I was seriously tempted to interrogate him right now but I honestly didn't think my brain was working properly yet. Thursday mornings just don't work that way. Ugh. School.

I poured some orange juice and bitterly ate the breakfast that my papa prepared. The only breakfast he'd ever prepare for me from what I recall. It wasn't bad. Too bad the egg yoke spilled everywhere though.

Roughly, I thanked him and cleared my plate as fast as I could so I could go back to my room and get ready for school. Something was going on but I didn't really have time to worry. Maybe during the summer when I had more free time.

In my room, I packed my school bag, hesitating as I held my journal, with pages of my heart all over them. Yes it was a story about Soul. But it was basically about how much I felt about him. Then I stuffed it in.

Looking over I spotted his baseball cap. I considered wearing it, but kept it on my bed and decided to change.

When I was done getting ready, I sneaked out the door, trying to avoid my father, who managed to say good bye anyway. He was acting too weird for me to be around him. I couldn't deal with him being responsible, as weird as that sounded.

The bus ride to school was rather boring. Everyone around me had headphones on and I wanted to listen to music but it was one of the things that I would probably never understand, another reason I wished Soul would tell me about the piano.

However, I did get soaked on the way off and on the bus which was highly annoying. The storm wasn't letting up.

I found Tsubaki and Black Star right away when I walked in the familiar building. Then we were joined by Kid and Liz, who were getting suspiciously close.

"Where's Soul?" Black Star asked. "My buddy isn't here..." he mumbled.

I shrugged.

"I actually don't know." I looked down at my phone, remembering that I was going to contact him this morning. He wasn't at school yesterday and I hadn't seen him all weekend so I was beginning to worry. He did send me a text on Sunday. But it wasn't related to anything. It was just about some extra assignment that we were given in Chemistry.

Something was definitely wrong because Soul _doesn't _worry about homework. It was almost like he was texting me to just make sure I was there. That I was okay. But that was ridiculous because what could possibly happen? We were normally always connected anyway.

I missed him by my locker already. I wanted him to knock my books out of my hand like last week but then pick them up again. I knew he just wanted to carry them for me but he had his own way to make an excuse for wanting to.

"Maka doesn't know where _Soul_ is?" Tsubaki wondered, giggling.

I rolled my eyes. There were actually many times that I didn't know his location. He liked to wander a lot. His family bothered him. I knew that much from the first time that we had a private talk and I offered him Taiyaki. Still...I never knew exactly what happened or what happens.

First hour was horrible. I was actually starting to wonder where Soul was. He _never _skipped more than one day of school. The workload was always too much to keep up with. He just never did that. He would've told me if he was sick right?

"Oy, you okay?" Liz happened to be sitting next to me at the time. We had all clustered together for free work time.

"Mmhmm." I nodded. No. I'm not okay. I'm starting to worry. The more that I thought about it, the more strange the idea seemed. Where _was _Soul? It was time to text him because I couldn't stand it any longer.

_Me: Hey! Where are you? I don't want to carry all of your textbooks for you and no not because I'm weak._

There was no reply from the white haired boy and I sat at my desk, tapping my foot, my phone under the wood. Normally, I never texted in class because I had a high respect for teachers. However, we weren't learning and this situation seemed more important than a ditzy girl texting about that cute skirt she saw at the mall the other day with her bestie.

Tsubaki was looking over my shoulder.

"Hey..." She said.

And I knew that she was understanding me right now. She hadn't seen the message but she knew I was worrying about Soul. I should've been worried this morning when I realized that he hadn't contacted me.

"Hi," I answered, looking up at her and then twisting around so I could see her.

Black Star was no longer by her side. He was buzzing around the room like a maniac.

"What's up?" She wondered, staring at my phone and then motioning towards it.

I sighed. I guess I could tell a little truth.

"Well, he was gone yesterday and he still hasn't answered my texts. I'm worried now." I explained.

Tsubaki nodded.

"Yeah. Everything is confusing when you have a boyfriend." She informed me. "You always feel like, at first, when he doesn't reply or hasn't talked to you in a while that you did something wrong but it's not necessarily like that. Sometimes it's not even close."

I nodded, trying to let her words soothe me.

"Besides, maybe he's just sick and he's so lame that he's too lazy to charge his phone." Tsubaki chimed, trying to make this more humorous.

"But there's no one to take care of him." I whispered quietly in my seat.

"What?" Tsubaki and Liz were now both looking at me, both had missed what I said.

I chuckled, rubbing my neck.

"Ahh, nothing." I remarked. "Just laughing." Fake.

At lunch a miracle happened. I got a text back from Soul.

_Soul: I'm fine. Don't worry about me._

_Me: What do you mean? What about homework? Why were you gone?  
><em>

_Soul: Seriously, Maka. I said I was fine. Okay?  
><em>

_Me: Well...if you say so.  
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_Soul: Sorry. It's a long story. I just have a cold. It's not a problem at all.  
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_Maka: Okay._

There were no more texts from Soul after that.

I shook my head. He had said he was okay. I trusted him.

"Look at those two." Tsubaki broke me from my trance.

I looked to where her finger was pointing. It was at Kid and Liz. Their bodies were inclined towards each other and they were engaging in an intense conversation.

"Love..." I said, trying to laugh. Laughing just wasn't my thing today.

Tsubaki nodded in agreement.

"Definitely."

After school, I dreadfully looked out that doors. The storm wasn't letting up my clothes had just finished properly drying. I waved goodbye to my friends and stalked towards the door unhappily, wishing I had something to distract me.

I should've been more calm but something felt so _wrong_. Something was _off_. But what _was _it?

Trying to shake it off, I stuffed my phone in my bag so it wouldn't get soaked and then I walked out into the pouring rain, my hair getting resoaked along with my newly dried clothes that were now sticking to my skin. The rain smelling bus wasn't any more welcoming.

Uneasily, I took a seat. There was still a feeling I couldn't shake. Something was _wrong_.

My thoughts were engulfing my in an unfriendly way. The strange people that sat around me weren't helping. What was I supposed to do? Honestly. I couldn't shake the feeling of something bad. It had to be related to Soul. It was just so weird for him to _actually _be snappy with me and not to be trying to do it to piss me off. I knew these things about him. I knew him so well that I could understand his tone through text messages.

It reminded of how horrible he was at the beginning of the year.

That was terrible.

Something wasn't right with my best friend.

I got off the bus, into the downpour, and started to walk home but then I suddenly stopped and jogged over to a small shop for shelter so I could look at my phone. I needed to meet up with Soul.

_Me: Hey, can I meet you somewhere?_

It took about five minutes or so for a response.

_Soul: Yeah, I guess. I need to talk to you anyway._

_Me: Meet halfway?  
><em>

_Soul: Sure._

I didn't even like the way he was texting me. He must've been sad. I would have to make sure to give him a hug the moment I saw him. Rain or no rain, I needed to find him.

Through the streets I ran, sprinted like mad. I craved his presence. His warm body. His toothy smirk that made me want to kiss him and punch all at the same time. His blood red eyes that used to scare me but were now comforting.

Rain blinded my eyes but I kept running. There was no hope of catching a bus now. Besides, I knew the route to Soul's too well.

The rain actually blinded me so much that I didn't realize the object in front of me and I collided with it. That object was Soul's body.

"Ow...fuck." He moaned.

We both stood up and looked at each other. We stood in the middle of an alley, both soaked like crazy. My hair clung to my neck and wasn't showing any sign of letting go while Soul's was deflated down.

"Sorry..." I mumbled back at him.

There was a silence between us but the pounding rain filled it and a chill ran up my spine. I was getting colder now and my clouds of breath were visible because of my ragged breathing from the running.

"Soul-"

"Maka." Soul cut me off and I immediately shut up.

He called me by my first name. My _real _name.

"Wh-what?" I asked.

He avoided eye contact with me.

"I'm breaking up with you."

I wasn't hearing this. My ears refused to accept the information and I didn't respond. I actually couldn't process what he just said.

"Huh?" I wondered.

"Are you deaf? I'm breaking up with you!" Soul shouted it and I felt my heart crush and shatter into a million pieces.

It hurt. It hurt. It actually hurt. My chest. Why was my chest hurting? It was a pain I'd never experienced before? My chest actually felt like a grenade had exploded inside of it. Such pain. Such unfamiliar pain engulfed my chest. Is it possibly for a heart to even hurt? Because mine did. Mine felt like it had just been shot.

"Wh-what? Why?" I demanded.

Four months. I'd gone out with him for four months and he was breaking up with me. The information wasn't settling in my brain nicely.

"Because..." Soul paused. "Because you're nothing but a nerdy, flat chested girl who has nothing better to do than try harder than everyone else!"

His words bit me. It was like a frost bite. It was like having numbing cold fingers and then getting them slammed by a door. Why did it hurt so much? I was used to insults...I was so used to them. From my drunk father. From my psycho ex boyfriend. From everyone else. But it hurt now. It hurt because the insults came from someone who mattered.

"S-S-Soul." I stammered. "Y-You're not any different than all the other men in this world. But I thought you were." I wanted to tell him how disgusted I was. How worthless he was.

"Well you're not even a woman."

Stab. Stab. Slice. Cut. My heart couldn't take much more. There was no tape to fix it this time.

"SOUL!" I shrieked so loud, I could've sworn my voice cut through the rain like a razor.

Next thing I knew, my back was up against the wall, tears streaming down my face, mixed with the rain, sobbing my heart out. It hurt so much. The pain was unbearable. It was like showing a trapped prisoner a light at the end of the tunnel for days and weeks and then finally covering it up with a boulder the day the confined person almost reached it.

I'd never felt such a horrible feeling even close to this since my mom left. It hurt. It hurt. It hurt.

_Somebody take me away. Because I...can't...take...this pain._

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><p><strong>Author's Note: No one shoot me. Please. Please? Just review. Without shooting me with an invisible gun...o.O I like to live :D<br>**


	27. Chapter 27

_One book in one year, written about your partner. Game on. Oh wait, they're writing about you too. [SoMa, TsuStar, KidLiz]  
><em>

_Rated M for Mature content_

_Genre: Romance, Suspense_

.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o._  
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_Fiction  
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_SunshinGirl09_

Maka

My skin was wrinkly and moist. My eyes were burning. They stung because they were wide open and my head was tilted upwards, in direct opposition of the rain. I didn't know how long I sat there. A few hours maybe. I was immobile. I wasn't in much shock anymore. I just felt weak, like all the energy from running had been drained out of my body.

Why did this have to happen? What did I _do _to deserve this? The only person that I trusted and loved with my entire heart just left me. I felt like life was cruel. For the first time. The breakup with Kyou was nothing compared to this. The fight with him didn't faze me as much. Getting kidnapped didn't come close. The fact that I was almost raped also seemed like child's play.

This time my heart was actually broken.

When Kyou showed his more...ugly side, I had a gut feeling it was there. I knew deep down that there was something wrong with him. I knew that he must've been involved with something. But with Soul, I sensed nothing. I thought that he truly was a good guy.

So why did he have to do this to me? What the hell did I do? Was I a creep? Was I a weirdo? Did I belong? (**A/N: radiohead *heart***)

I told him about my anorexia. I told him about the days where I could never finish my dinner. I told him about all the memories I kept locked inside of my mind where they fermented and became more permanently haunting. Until I told him that is. They were purified then but now they were becoming tainted again and I could feel them become more of a burden.

But they weren't as bad as what just happened.

At first I thought that maybe Soul was forced to break up with me. His parents didn't approve. Something like that. But he would've told me. He wouldn't have tried to make me feel bad about it. He would've been gentle.

Then again, now I wasn't sure if I knew him.

I needed a time machine. I needed to go back. I needed to warn myself not to fall for Soul. But I couldn't bring myself to consider the scenario. I loved Soul. Still did. There was no way I could change it.

Sitting there, I remembered my books that were necessary for the Chemistry assignment due Monday. And also for the Pre-Calc assignment. I needed them but how could I go to his house now.

With my trembling, soaked hands, I pulled out my phone, shielding it from the rain with my head and read the time.

It was almost nine. I'd been out for almost four hours. No wonder I was a freezing prune.

How could I just show up at his house right after he broke up with me? How could I do something like that? But I needed those books. Was it worth the embarrassment though? I didn't know if I could face him.

I rolled upwards off the wall and shakily stood, looking up at the sky as it boomed with thunder. The storm wasn't going anywhere.

Then I started to jog to the nearest bus stop. I waited about ten minutes for it to come, still thinking miserably about Soul. I climbed the steps and took my seat. As the engine became to roar though, I felt my heart pick up speed and I stood abruptly while the bus started to move forward.

"Wait!" I cried loudly. "Please, let me off!"

The bus driver, in the mirror, rolled his eyes and stopped the bus.

He looked at me as I stumbled up the aisle, completely soaked.

"You sure?" He asked, opening the doors.

I nodded, mumbling a thanks.

Then the bus began to drive off the moment I stepped onto the pavement. What had I done?

So I started to break into a run. I sprinted towards Soul's house but I hadn't planned on what I was going to say. "Gimme my books, you asshole." But then I started to remember we weren't close anymore. One conversation just switched up our relationship. One sentence brought everything to a stand still. How was I supposed to address him now? Evans? No, that'd probably result in the door getting slammed in my face.

I still ran though. I ran as fast as I could. His behavior was unexplained, uncalled for and unnecessary. I'm not going to let him make me fail my chemistry assignment. But I thought about it and imagined myself crying the moment I opened the book to try to do the assignment when I got home.

Why? Why couldn't this just go back to the start? I couldn't just meet up with Soul and tell him I was sorry. He was the one who needed to apologize. But I needed him. I needed his presence now. It wasn't like I relied on him. I could get by in life making my own money and running things my way. But I needed him to relieve the stress. I needed him to remind me that life was worth living.

This was never easy. It was hard. Dealing with people was hard.

By now I was used to the rain. I was used to the droplets of water that pounded against my face as I darted across the streets of Death City. I bribed myself to keep going by telling myself I could eat ice cream when I got home. Lots of it.

However, going to his house right now seemed like a journey that would never end. It was like I was running in circles. Constantly thinking about Soul, I was just getting more and more depressed. No one knew me like him. I just lost a friend. A best friend. Fuck.

Oh my god. What had I gotten myself into? Stupid boys.

I arrived at his beautiful house that I had come to admire over the months. I now knew almost every crevice of it. Not that it mattered anymore.

_Oh mom. Where are you when I need you? Mom, what do I_ do?

Just knock on the door and ask. Just knock and ask.

I breathed in a shaky breath, approaching the steps as if they led to the gates of hell. Then I peered in the window at the dark house where no one seemed to stir. Why was it so quiet.

Finally, breathing once more, I rang the door bell.

I waited for a minute in suspense. Where were they? I started to wonder if they were all asleep but I knew Soul's sleeping habits better than anyone and he didn't sleep. Besides. He wouldn't let someone stay at the door. It'd piss him off if they decided to ring again.

Which is what I did.

He better answer the fucking door. I'd better be crying myself to sleep for a good reason tonight. I didn't even know if I was going to make it through the night. So getting the assignments would be the last things that I'd do.

There was still no answer. And the house was still dark. What was I supposed to do.

I turned looking in the driveway. There were no cars. They might've not been home.

Glancing around a few times, I moved towards a vase. Then I shoved my hand inside and retrieved the spare key to the house. Yeah. I know where it is. I wanted to go inside but what if Soul's family came home when I was inside? What if they were already inside?

I bit my lip. Was that schoolwork really worth it? Then again, when was I ever going to get my stuff back. For all that I knew, Soul might just burn it. However, I was still highly confused by his behavior. How could someone act so in love (with me) and then suddenly snatch it from under my feet. I couldn't wrap my brain around his uninvited actions.

Nonetheless, I still stared down the keyhole to the door with intensity.

I was gonna _fucking _go inside. And if Soul was there he was just going to have to deal with it, that bastard.

So I unlocked the door and walked inside.

The house was eerily dark and I peered up the long staircase, spotting Soul's dim room. It was open. I knew he wasn't there. His door was always closed when he occupied the room. I didn't think anyone was home actually. But they could've been coming home any moment so I had to be quick.

I tiptoed up the steps, creeping up them as if I'd never entered the house before.

Soul's room came closer to me and I felt my heart speed up. My palms were sweaty now and I knew it wasn't rainwater. I completely forgot the fact that I was dripping all over their floor. Not that I cared much.

His room smelled the same and it made my eyes water. I loved that smell so much.

My books were lying on the bed and I came over and picked them up with a quick swoop. In the process, I knocked something else off. I thudded against the floor and I bent down to get a peek at it. It was Soul's story. About me.

I wanted to read it. Curiosity ate at me and I forgot where I was. Then I opened it.

The first few chapters made me want to punch a wall. They pissed me off extremely but I remembered that Soul and I hated each other back when he wrote this so I stayed calm.

_Maka didn't let others fuck with her. She didn't take shit from anyone._

I smiled to myself.

_She had a heart the size of the Earth._

Water was brought to my eyes.

_Maka may've not had the body of a goddess but she was addicting. No one could stay away from her. Some people found it people couldn't get pass what was on the surface, but those who climbed to the top of the tree, got the nice-ass apples. The ones that weren't rotten._

Tears dripped from my eyes and I started to laugh. Forgetting almost._  
><em>

_There was never a dull moment with her. One second she was being nice and the next she was being a genius smart-ass. She had it all down._

I just shook my head.

_Despite her imperfection, I love her. I love her. I love her. I love her. I love her._

I bowled my eyes out. The pain was coming back and I crumpled onto the floor, clutching the book to my chest. _  
><em>

"Why, Soul? Why?" I cried out loud.

And then I looked at the date of that entry. It was today.

My tears stopped flowing and my clenched stomach had butterflies jump in excitement. Something just wasn't right here.

"What the hell..." I murmured, shivering because I was still wet.

That entry happened today and the handwriting was sloppier than usual, like it was in a rush. I studied it, thanking god that I was smarter than the average human. Then I looked around the room, narrowing my eyes.

That was when I noticed that clothes were throw astray everywhere. Drawers were ripped open and the overall cleanliness was much less than usual. Something was _definitely _up.

Was he in a hurry to _leave _somewhere?

I blinked as I walked out of his room and into his bathroom. The drawers were always thrown open and I checked them. There was no toothbrush. The toothpaste was also missing.

I narrowed my eyes. He _was _leaving for somewhere...fast.

But where? Did this have to do with his breaking up with me? He wasn't moving for good because everything else was still here. I would've heard something earlier. I know it. This was more of an emergency...?

I checked the other rooms in the house. Things were missing from them too except they weren't sloppy. The drawers weren't ajar and clothes weren't littering the floor. Which meant that Soul's family knew about this and he didn't.

I pulled out my cell phone, dialing Soul's number, not caring if he was wanting to see me or not. I needed to know what was going on. My fear for talking to him had gone because I figured his cruel breaking up with me had something behind it now. Guys don't just break up with you randomly out of the blue after having a great, unrocky relationship for months. Something normally triggers it.

But Soul and I were fine. So something else happened that didn't have to do with me.

Typically, Soul didn't answer the phone. I didn't really expect him to. So, I left him a message.

"Soul Evans!" I shouted into the phone louder than I had planned. "I don't know what the fuck is wrong with you but I want an explanation, okay? Where are you? You're gone and I need to talk to you. Something's obviously fucked up here and you better tell me if you ever want a chance at fixing my heart, which you just crushed. Got it? So call me you jackass if you plan on ever being with me again. I _know _something else is going on and I want an explanation so just pick up the goddamn phone!"

I took a breath as I hung up. My heart was rapidly beating and my hands shook.

I hadn't really planned on threatening him but I guess it could work.

This could've been one of the longest days of my life. And I'd hardly done anything.

Then there was a sudden slam on a table from downstairs. I jumped, letting out a squeak of terror. Someone was home!

I bounded down the steps, peering down. Sitting at the kitchen table in the dark, around the corner, was Soul's dad. A bottle of whiskey was in his hands and his head was down.

I furrowed my eyebrows. How had I missed him?

Judging by his state, I could sneak out now and he'd probably never know that I came. But then I was curious. He probably knew what happened to Soul. He probably knew about everything that was going on.

"M-Mr. Evans?" I called.

"Who's there?" He immediately demanded.

I started to wonder if he wasn't even close to drunk because his voice sounded even.

"It's me, Maka." I came into the light for him to see. Well, dim light.

He raised his head, revealing sad eyes and a stubble beard.

"Oh you poor girl..." He only mumbled, shaking his head.

I blinked. Did he know that Soul broke up with me.

"Mr. Evans?" I addressed him again, catching his stare. "Where is everyone?"

Soul's dad sighed, releasing his grip on the bottle of liquor. He then leaned back, folding his arms, as if thinking of how to chose his words even though his answer was only one simple location.

"My wife and my sons are at a music convention for the weekend" He told me.

I was confused. Music convention? Where? What did that have to do with anything?

"Where?" I questioned, confused.

"It's in Tokyo." He remarked.

Tokyo was a few hours from here by car. I didn't know any bus routes that went there. I had my license and my papa had a car but I never dared to touch. After I took my driver's test, I stopped using the car because it was always missing on my dad's midnight trips. I was so used to the bus system anyways.

Besides, now that my dad was home, he'd never let me go to Tokyo alone.

What was I thinking? I couldn't just show up in Tokyo...

"Wow..." I scoffed, taking a seat with Mr. Evans.

There was a silence between us.

"Soul was so fond of you, you know?" He reminded me.

I snorted.

"Then why did he break up with me?" I inquired.

Mr. Evans shrugged his shoulders.

"Not sure. He always has a reason for everything that he does though. I do know that right before he left to break up with you that he and Wes had a heated argument over something. I didn't really hear what it was about." Mr. Evans explained, looking at me.

I stared back.

"And Wes is with them in Tokyo?" I asked.

Soul's father nodded and the suspicion inside of my was building. I needed to know what was going on here.

"Thanks." I told him, abruptly standing up.

I began to walk away, thanking god that he didn't ask my _why _I was in the house in the first place.

"Hey, Maka?" Mr. Evans called.

I turned around.

"You're the best thing that has ever happened to that boy. Just remember that."

With my eyes watering, I nodded the best I could and walked quickly to the door, engulfing myself in the rain once more. This this time I was sprinting home with more ferocity than before. I had to do something about this if Soul wasn't planning on calling my back.

I really hoped that this didn't have anything to do with Kyou. I knew he liked his mind games. But I hadn't seen him in ages so it wouldn't make any sense for this to be connected to him.

The rain continued to pitter pat on the sidewalk.

After another half hour, my apartment complex came into cloudy view. I looked at it through narrowed eyes.

No, if this had to do with anyone that I knew in ninth grade, I'd have to personally rip them from limb to limb.

This was about me and Soul. No one else.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note: Anyone dying with curiosity right now? MUAHHHAHAH. Yes. I like to do this kind of stuff. So anyways, give me what you guys think is going down. I like to read everyone's theories, they're highly enjoyable! So review and tell me what you think is happening!<strong>


	28. Chapter 28

_One book in one year, written about your partner. Game on. Oh wait, they're writing about you too. [SoMa, TsuStar, KidLiz]  
><em>

_Rated M for Mature content_

_Genre: Romance, Suspense_

.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o._  
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_Fiction  
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_SunshinGirl09_

Maka

I stared at the sleek black dress. The top part and sleeves were a see through black. Black, long gloves went with that. At the bottom it thrilled out. This morning I had researched this music convention Soul and his mom were attending. It was high class. And I just happened to have a dress that would matched the occasion. Now I knew that I shouldn't butt in. However, something felt extremely wrong here.

Something felt like it was manipulated.

It was now Friday afternoon. I knew that this convention started today. And I knew I needed to go. The problem was Tsubaki and Black Star. They were both very suspicious of Soul's whereabouts. I had this feeling that I couldn't tell them. But, I got the vibe from them that they knew that I knew. It was terrible not telling them about it but I just had this feeling something else was involved.

Something. Just something. That's the only way I could sum the situation up. _Something_ just wasn't right.

I slipped into the dress, knowing that my father was still at work. Hopefully the car would still be in the garage because I would then have to hitch a ride from someone in order to get to Tokyo, which I didn't plan on doing.

In my bathroom drawer, I found two black hair ties to pull my hair back. I was about to leave it down but my signature pigtails proved to be a much better idea. I didn't exactly know why I preferred to wear it that way, I just did.

I packed things in my purse next. Necessities. A cell phone. Band-aids. Tissues. Pens. Money. And let's not forget a book to hit people with. Actually, I always liked to carry books with me for reading when I got bored but people seemed to always get the idea I carried them around just for chopping others. Psh. Now when have I ever done that? I brought a hardcover too. At least it was extremely thin.

"Focus..." I muttered, remembering I was about to steal my dad's car and show up uninvited to a music convention with little motivation or intention. A normal girlfriend would wait until her boyfriend/ex-boyfriend for unexplained reasons, got back.

However, I wasn't a normal girlfriend. And Soul wasn't a normal boyfriend.

I also decided to pack some energy bars and other small snacks. I was a hungry person. By now, my purse was suspiciously overflowing. I hoped that they didn't have security guards or a guest list.

There was no way I could pull off having any musical talent whatsoever.

Shuffling around in my room, my hand brushed against something, knocking it off my bed post. I leaned over and bent down to see it was Soul's cap he gave me. Tears glistened in my eyes but didn't fall down my cheeks. I refused to let them. Honestly, I just hoped that Soul still loved me. I hoped that there was something else compelling him to break up with me because if that journal was really true, then we both felt the same way about each other.

I couldn't give up on him. Not yet. I _had _to make it to that music convention. That _something _was bothering me. That _feeling._That uncomfortable feeling.

Shaking my head, I walked into the kitchen and inside the drawer by the sink, I retrieved the car keys. Thank god. I was really not hoping to find some sort of other ride. The problem getting back would be explaining to my father why I suddenly just took the car. For once, I wished he was drunk.

I slung my purse over my shoulder and slipped into black heels. Some would think it was stupid to wear them if I was going out and was going to walk around, especially at my age but after the run-in with Kyou's 'friends', wearing heels, I was pretty sure I could do anything in them.

The car was in the parking garage, untouched. It was a black convertible. The top was currently down. My papa liked it because he thought he was a chick magnet when he drove it. I liked it because it was manual. I learned on manual so I learned to prefer it.

I unlocked the vehicle, climbing into the leather seat and setting my purse on the passenger's seat. Then I put my foot on the clutch and brake, turning the car on, then switching to reverse and pulling out. I shifted to first then released the clutch, pulling out of the parking garage, shifting to second, then third, then sitting at fourth while I drove through Death City.

It felt really good to be driving the car again. I loved the feeling of the wind in my face. It almost felt like I was flying. Airline Maka! Then I reminded myself that I couldn't have dreams of flying in the car when I had to focus.

I was almost out of the city and then I saw Black Star and Tsubaki on the sidewalk. Shit.

They waved to me and I managed a smile as I drove past the Death City sign. They were definitely gonna text me later, demanding an explanation. I was super suspicious today anyway. Tsubaki was certainly going to be interrogating me. I would give them answers when I knew what was going on with my boyfriend myself.

The more I drove, the darker it got. I wasn't afraid of the dark but I was worried about finding my way around Tokyo. I knew the whole city was lit up and I'd been there before a few times but I wasn't exactly confident of the whole location of this music convention, even though I had printed out directions.

Now, what was I supposed to say to Soul when I got there? What if he refused to see me? What if he really actually hated me? I tried to force this discouraging thoughts out of my head. There was no way he could've been acting all along.

In order to drive out my thoughts, I turned on the radio. Music immediately started to blare. I considered turning it down because my papa obviously liked to rock out too loudly but then I realized it was doing a fine job of distracting me.

2NE1's "Can't Nobody" rang loudly as I buzzed down the street, en route to Tokyo.

"Can't nobody hold us down, 날 멈추려 하지마!" (**A/N: Gal ddae-gga-ji gal ddae-gga-ji gass-eo nan For you 'Take My Picture'**)

I didn't understand what they were saying but whatever station my dad had tuned into was really catchy and it was making me forget about Soul briefly. But soon enough, a song called Sherlock came on and I realized that I needed to become Sherlock. This was a party that I wasn't invited to. This was a mystery except it felt like it was more like a crime scene investigation yet I was the victim, revisiting the murder.

For a while, I was so scared that someone was following me, this red car, but then it pulled off at a different exit and I breathed a sigh of relief. I was way too uptight over this. It was probably nothing. Soul was just probably being an ass.

After another hour and a half I finally reached Tokyo and it sure was lit up. But there was no time to admire the lights, I had to find wherever this music convention was being held.

I drove around for what seemed like forever. The streets were nothing like Death City. People were bitchy about their driving. So were pedestrians. They were climbing over taxis left and right when their crosswalk light didn't show during traffic_. "Can't nobody hold them down"_ I thought to myself, laughing at my own joke.

"Focus..." I mumbled again, trying to get a lay of the land. I passed a familiar restaurant that I was pretty sure my mom and brought me to at one point in my childhood. The name wasn't familiar at all but the flashy sign jogged my memory greatly for some reason. However the memory was fuzzy and unclear...too unclear to even understand.

It took almost another hour before I found the gates for the music convention, however the building was closed, it was already around ten anyway. Now I knew I wasn't going to find Soul's hotel so I decided to find one of my own.

I sighed, resting my forehead on the steering wheel. The sound of heels brought me to attention. An elegant woman had exited the large building. I squinted, knowing that I had seen her somewhere before. I got another glimpse at her purse and realized that she was Soul's mom.

But where was Soul? I brain worked furiously. What was going on?

Being the creep that I was, I decided to follow her. It would've been better if I was in a Taxi or something. Or maybe a vehicle with a top. Now I looked super creepy. Not that she would've noticed anyway. She was strutting down the sidewalk with that "Bitch, I do what a want" look.

Now the real question was, where was she going? I had a feeling it wasn't a hotel. Not with that attitude. She was what? Forty? Where was she going at this time of night when she had a son? Just let Soul wonder around Tokyo? I didn't trust him in Death City alone.

I continued to follow her until she reached a nightclub. I could see the laser lights beam around the room through the modern styled windows. Then I saw her flash an ID to a man standing by the entrance who let her in.

"Sherlock time." I mumbled, swerving around expertly and parking in the nearest space.

I knew I wasn't about to get past that guard. Even if I did have an ID that showed I was eighteen or older, he probably wouldn't have believed me considering how young I look, especially with my pigtails.

Still, what was Soul's mom doing all alone in that club? Maybe Wes was in there. Or Soul?

Then I remembered he was too young. But what if he was there? I could sneak in too. Being the crafty person I was, I searched around the bouncing building for an entrance. I figured the whole throw an object to distract the guard and sneak in trick wouldn't work. Dammit.

"Hmmm..." I pondered, taking in all of the surroundings. What would Soul do? He'd beat the guard up, no doubt. Not happening. Legendary Maka or not.

I walked around to the back of the building, trying to not look suspicious, which was hard considering I was an innocent looking girl just glancing around all the sides of a building as if they were somewhat intriguing.

I was definitely glad the rain wasn't heavy anymore. This morning it was drizzling and it had been throughout the day but now it was only cloudy, no rain falling though. I was very thankful for that. My convertible didn't like water. Correction: Papa's convertible that I stole.

Reality was sinking in when I thought about the deep shit was about to be in when I got back. Why couldn't I have just been a good girl and stayed? Oh yeah because Soul was a bad boy who broke my heart. Time to go hunt him down.

I then stumbled up a second story window. There was a metal latter that started halfway up the wall. Smirking, I hiked up my dress.

Jumping up, I clung onto the bar, dangling above the ground now by a foot. My arm strength didn't look the great but it wasn't bad. I swung my legs back for momentum and pulled up. Now my chest touched the first bar. I sneaked my foot up to land on the bar now and heaved the rest of my body on top of the rung, gaining support. Then I began to climb up the rest of the latter.

Once I reached the window, I prayed that it wasn't locked. I tugged at it and it seemed to, unfortunately, be either jammed or locked. Then I remembered the book in my purse, which was slung behind my back. I held onto the latter with one had and with the other dug around in my purse for the book. Once I retrieved it, forced it into the small space the window left and tried prying it open. Thank god no one had spotted me yet.

No big deal. Just a girl hanging onto a second story window and latter, trying to pry open a window with a book.

Finally the window budged, nearly sending my flying off the latter but I already learned from my mistake before and clung for dear life and then pulled myself into the window, hearing pounding music from inside.

I was only on the second floor and was already getting blinded by the lights. The song Tik Tok by U-Kiss blared through the speakers and I felt the bass beating in my heart...or was that my heart?

"Soul's mom..." I reminded myself. "Find her..."

But I looked out from the balcony and saw that there was a huge crowd of people on the dance floor and didn't know how the hell I was supposed to find Soul's mom from here. From anywhere. Wes. Find Wes too. And Soul.

I spotted the DJ, jamming out. Then I found the steps and quickly ran down them, getting squished into the dance floor. Ugh. So many bodies. And everyone was hot and sweaty make the room unbearable.

I squirmed out, barely breathing and took a seat by the bar, but ignored the bartender. The last thing I needed was to get drunk. I checked my phone as I sat down and saw that it was almost eleven now. Why wasn't Soul with his mom now? I thought that she could've been meeting him here but it made absolutely no sense. Wes didn't seem to be here either. And where they hell did she go anyway?

Now I was starting to get a headache and it wasn't necessarily from the music. It was from trying to figure out what the heck was going. Honestly. What _was _going on? There seemed to be a secret, a catch that I was missing.

Finally, I spotted Soul's mother, swaying to the music. I wasn't about to let her out of my sight either. Watching her though, I tried to understand the Evans family's love for music. She seemed so into it, like she understood every aspect of it.

What was it about music that had all of the people I knew dancing like crazy. Soul was extremely in love with the piano, I knew that. But other people had a love for music too. I just never understood it. Becoming Soul's girlfriend...ex? Girlfriend? I started to learn a few things about music. I started to understand the counting. It was like math so I could get that.

But there were just aspects to it that I would never fully comprehend.

Now suddenly everyone was doing the same dance step. It seemed to be shuffling. I may have not understood music that well but dance wasn't too hard for me.

"Lovey dovey dovey dovey...oh, oh, oh..."

They were all in sync and that was when I realized Soul's mom was no longer on the floor. I started to panic but then I spotted her on the other side of the bar, holding a drink in her hand but looking like she had no intent on drinking it.

What was up with her? I'd met her a few times but I'd never seen her look depressed. I wanted to go talk to her but even I knew it was far best to keep my distance. She could've been in on this too, whatever this was.

Then she suddenly got up from her seat and I got up also, following her. It was too late when I realized that she was leaving. The guard immediately saw me.

"Hey, miss," He addressed me. "Can I see your ID please?"

I ducked when Soul's mom turned around to see who he was talking to. But then he started to come toward me. I spun around on my heel quickly and darted though the shuffling people who took no notice of my hurry. I knew that man was following me but it would be hard to spot me through the crowd of dancing people.

I managed to make it to the steps and bolted up them, panting. He seemed to notice that I had gone up right away and yelled at me to stop again. No way. I knew that going to places like these underage was against the law and he could report me. He wasn't a real cop so it wasn't like he could do anything if I escaped though, which was what I planned to do.

Then I made it to the window which I thrust open, looking back in horror, seeing he made it up the steps already. Maybe he was more fit than I was. Without thinking, I jumped out the window, clutching the bottom rung instinctively. When I went down though, it felt like the weight of my body falling to earth ripped my arm out of my socket, however it saved me a broken leg. Now that I was dangling closer to the ground, I let go, still feeling pain in my arm.

The man just looked down at me with disgust on his face.

"Just stay out you little whore!" He cried.

I broke into a run before he had even opened his mouth though. I had more important things to do like stalking my _ex _boyfriend's mom. She walked to a five star hotel a couple blocks away. I felt all my financial hope crushed just by looking at it. Yeah. Not happening.

As much as I wanted to continue to stalk her, there was no way I could enter. Probably just breathing the air there had a price. So I avoided the tall, high class building and a block away stayed at a smaller hotel, which nearly wiped out all my money just for one night. Ugh. Thank god I remembered the car otherwise I would be in deeper shit.

Oh I was so dead when I got back home too.

I checked in and once I was in my room, wanted to cry because of my shoulder. I hadn't packed any pajamas or anything. All I could do was sleep in this. I made sure to lock my door.

I collapsed on my bed, knowing there was no way I could sleep. There was an uneasy feeling because I had left home. There was an uneasy feeling because I didn't know what the hell was going on with Soul or his brother. And there was an uneasy feeling because Soul's mothers complex expression were still etched in my mind.

Laying down, I opened my purse and pulled out an energy bar, stuffing it into my mouth, chewing furiously. For all the lying, cheating men that there were in the world, there was always food. I liked food much better as a boyfriend. It never lied to me. It never cheated on me. And I could always depend on it to make me feel better in terrible situations.

However, there was that uneasy feeling that was settled in my stomach, unwilling to leave. _Something _was about to go down. I could feel it.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Many KPOP references :D That's for you 'Take My Picture' but anyway...GETTING INTENSE? Oh yes...I spend an hour in the middle of writing this, trying to find the exact plot. I generally knew what was going to happen but with fanfiction I don't plan in detail and just kinda write to see what'll happen and see what turns out ahaha. But I REALLY had to think about this one. It was great lol. Anywayyys REVIEW OKAY? :D I still want to hear all your theories!**


	29. Chapter 29

_One book in one year, written about your partner. Game on. Oh wait, they're writing about you too. [SoMa, TsuStar, KidLiz]  
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_Rated M for Mature content_

_Genre: Romance, Suspense_

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_Fiction  
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_SunshinGirl09_

Maka

Basically, I didn't sleep at all. I hadn't planned on spending the night at a hotel anyway. Deep bags were under my eyes and I wished I had brought makeup to cover them. However, I was only focused on how dead I was going to be when I got back. _Don't think about it..._

Find Soul. I just had to find him and talk to him. Not hard right?

At noon I finally checked out of my room, still looking as tired as ever. Sleep was never going to come to me. Not until I saw Soul. Thursday night I hadn't slept at all either. How could I? The dark circles under my eyes were embarrassingly starting to show now.

I returned my key and walked out the door, stepping into a cloudy atmosphere. Sunshine wouldn't have been bad for a change. At least it wasn't raining. I wasn't eager to get this dress all wet.

Ugh. I hadn't planning on staying the night. I would've brought other stuff.

Sighing, I retrieved my car and drove off. I found a nice cafe to eat at and sadly looked at my tiny wallet that only had $20 left. I should've just let myself starve but I couldn't help it. The sandwich I bought was totally worth it.

However, finding Soul wasn't going to be enough. I wanted to know what was going on with everyone else. I was determined to find out the mystery that everyone seemed to be hiding. It was like everyone was in on it _but _me.

And then I remembered Tsubaki, checking my phone, which was at half battery now. I really should've planned better and brought a charger.

She'd sent me numerous messages asking where I was. I wanted to reassure her but I didn't like lying to my best girl friend. However if I told her the truth she would probably come out herself or Black Star and I couldn't risk that. Soul was my boyfriend and I needed to do this by myself because this was between him and me. I didn't even think that Tsubaki knew that we broke up either. And I would tell her, when I figured out what was going on.

I put the other half of my sandwich in my purse and walked out of the cafe, realizing I was getting stares probably because of my..._interesting _attire.

For the next few hours, I searched the city, not looking for anyone in particular. I was going to the music convention tonight. It started around 6:30 or at least that's what the sign by the door said. That was when I'd find Soul because he _had _to be there. It meant I'd have a lot of time to kill. I had lots of gas also despite the drive here, no one having used the car, so I just drove around looking for people.

By 3:30 I realized that it would futile to find anyone in this gigantic city. Of course just when I give up, that's when I see someone. Ox Ford's spiked up sides of his hair stood out in his silhouette and I knew no one would ever dress that ridiculously _except _for him.

I was about to reach out for him but then decided it was stupid considering he didn't have any part in this. Besides, I didn't need him tattletaling, something he was famous for. Next thing I knew, everyone was aware of my presence in Tokyo. He was probably going to some anime convention like last year. Or the manga one.

Uncomfortably, I parked my car and sat in the grass in a tiny park, the only space that seemed to be unoccupied by a skyscraper. Little children danced around me with delighted smiles on their tiny faces. I remembered when I was like that and frowned. If only they knew how cruel the world was. If only they knew how hard it was to get someone to care.

"Oops!" A small boy landed on my with an oof.

"Akito!" another little girl cried at him from across the park.

A ball rolled to the other side of me and I held it up to him.

"Is this yours?" I asked him.

He nodded, receiving it from my hands.

"Are you playing catch with her?" I wondered, pointing to the girl across the grass who was waving her arms frantically, wanting the ball from Akito.

"Yeah!" He gave me a toothy grin. "Imma marry Amu!" He then announced to which she stuck her tongue out at him but blushed.

Oh if only love was that simple.

I put my hands on the boys shoulder, looking him in the eye.

"Listen Akito," I told him. "That girl over there," I pointed to her."Don't you ever let her go."

He nodded at my, beaming. I wasn't sure if he understood but her ran back to her, tossing the ball which she skillfully caught.

I lay in the grass for a while, until it was about 5:30 watching the kids play together, wondering where their parents were. Finally they came though, picking their children up and waving goodbye. I wondered though, why they weren't there the whole time...

Then I got up, rubbing my tired eyes, feeling the adult world come crashing back down at me and I remembered what I had to do. I climbed into my car and pulled out of the parking space by the park, heading to the music convention.

On the way, I stopped at a bathroom and fixed my hair and clothes to make them look more presentable. I considered taking out my pigtails once more but they were so familiar to me in this unfamiliar environment, I couldn't.

I arrived at the building around six and people were busily storming into it, all dressed in the best possible clothes. I felt poor in my dress. Some people were wearing expensive diamonds and fur coats while I was simply dressed in this black dress.

I had to park three blocks away in order to secure a spot. I put money in the meter and began to walk down the sidewalk. I was a block away when someone caught my eye. They looked slightly familiar. It was a boy with shaggy black hair. I wanted to fall into step with him but that would be awkward. I was so close to the theater now to where the convention was being held.

Then I saw a flash of orange. An orange bandana. My spine was shocked into place as I stood upright, my whole body stiff, not moving. Someone bumped into me from behind, muttering something about people just stopping in the middle of the sidewalk.

But then I thought about it as the two men disappeared out of my sight. The one who bumped into me was _awfully _close. The moment I stopped, he ran into me. No person walked that close...to a stranger.

I narrowed my eyes...the bandana...the stranger...panic was starting to strike my heart. Was I being followed?

I broke into a sprint, heading towards the entrance. I tried to duck under the man at the door but he asked for my invitation. I told him I didn't have one. Then he asked for my ticket. I told him I was there to see the show but had no ticket.

"Then just leave, lady." He informed me. "You have to pay to get in."

I walked away, scoffing. I'd already dealt with this before. People can't get me to leave from places with a guard at the front. But then I remembered that I could've been followed so my pace quickened as I scanned the rest of the building. There was a basement window that was open at the back.

"Jesus..." I mumbled. "You'd think at least this place would have better security. It's almost _too _easy." Especially since the window was already open.

I climbed into it, hoping that some sort of alarm wasn't about to go off. I'd be doing some illegal things lately. It probably would be best if I didn't get caught now.

But now it was getting darker outside, so I couldn't tell easily if anyone had been shadowing me.

The basement that I was now surrounded by was extremely dark and I felt around, realizing later that I was engulfed by musical instruments of all sorts. The seemed to be abandoned and I had to be careful, I stepped back and my hand flung onto the piano, playing a frightening chord that made me jump. And then a minute later I stepped on a violin, a scratchy, vibrating sound resulting.

All these instruments were already broken, but I had to be careful not to make too much noise.

Geez. And I used to be such a rule follower.

I finally found some steps in which I waked up thankfully. The door was slightly stuck but I managed to open it without destroying anything. And then I was amazed by the beauty and architecture of the lobby. It was absolutely beautiful. I started to wonder if it was heaven on earth. Honestly, the paintings and the gold and the floral growth...everything was wondrous.

Now where was I supposed to find Soul? There seemed to be about ten majestic theaters in this gigantic building but which one was he in? My heart did a dance when I thought about seeing his face again. But what if he didn't want me here? What if...

"Don't think about that, Maka!" I scolded myself, wondering over to food table, instinctively picking up a piece of cake. Geez. I was always hungry. Then I started to walk around, searching for Soul. He had to be in one of the theaters.

I was starting to go crazy. How the heck was I supposed to find him.

And then I looked over. The guard from the door saw me. Shit. Was I done for? I decided to pace in the other direction, avoiding him at all costs but he was starting to talk to other people there and I was sure that they were all looking for me.

Time to run. More guards were heading my direction.

"For goodness sake!" I mumbled. "It's a goddamn music convention. Who gives a fuck who comes?"

I was still stuffing down my cake but then decided to toss it. Sneakily, because there were no trash cans, I tossed it under the table cloth of a table, making sure no one noticed my sly little move that, under normal circumstances, I never would've committed to.

"Sorry," I apologized as I just plowed down an old man. Quickly, I picked him up and continued to sprint. "Now would be a good time to be checking theaters." I told myself, glancing behind me, seeing that the guard was walking quickly, probably trying to look professional. "Why do these things happen to me?"

Feeling my stomach clench, I flung open the doors of a theater, it was empty. I had to be more careful. I could be disturbing the peace of a concert. Still though, I ran. I ran. Soul's scribbled handwriting was etched in my brain as I sprinted, checking theaters.

_I love her. I love her. I love her. I love her. I love her._

Please don't let it only be in fiction.

Still, I was hoping for something lucky. Maybe the lucky chance I would quickly spot Soul in one of the theaters. I didn't know if he was coming to watch or to perform. I didn't know. I also didn't have enough time to thoroughly glance at the crowds when I would open a door. I only got a really good look at whoever was performing.

Soul. I had to see him. I craved his body. I craved his warmth and I was starting to realize that I really couldn't live without him. What was there to live for in life? Was it love? Was it revenge? Was it happiness? I still didn't know what life was all about and neither did Soul but I knew that I wanted to spend as much as my life as I could with him. It was like what I told the little boy. Once you find someone with the same wavelength, _don't you ever let them go_.

I wasn't about to let Soul go. I didn't care if it took all weekend. I didn't care if I slept on the streets tonight. I had to talk to him as soon as possible. Because I loved him. I loved him and I wasn't about to let us end like this.

Our story...our story had to go on.

"Hey stop her please!" The man called after me.

I kept bolting forward and I suddenly ran into something hard and tall. I looked up, excited for a minute when I saw white hair but then horror crashed down upon me. It was definitely someone who _looked _like Soul. But it wasn't him it was Wes.

I gasped loudly. I could've asked where Soul was right then and there. That would've been the smart thing to do. But I couldn't trust him. I just shrieked and ran as fast as I could out of there, hoping Wes wouldn't follow me,

So I went around him, darting fast as I could. Soul must've been close now.

The theater ... which one. I checked two more and he wasn't there. Which one was he in? I wanted to cry. I kept checking. I kept checking. I dodged people, avoided guards, trying not to think about how much trouble I could get in, but I couldn't find Soul. Tears were forming in my eyes but I wouldn't let them follow through. I couldn't.

I had almost made a full circle around the building, having checked nearly all the theaters and I felt like giving up, crying and letting the guards take me.

But then I heard a familiar piano play and my heart seemed to skip a beat. That sound...that style...I wasn't an expert on music but I was an expert on Soul Eater Evans.

I swung open the door and charged into the theater stopping halfway, realizing I had caused such a huge disruption. The lights on the stage seemed to blind me. The people around me gasped. Everything was rushing up to me now. What embarrassing thing had I just done. Shocked faces surrounded me. My breath was rapid and I was so distracted that I didn't realize the piano stopped.

I squinted my eyes, breathing heavily, shaking, trying to look at the stage. The person was no longer occupying to seat at the piano and was standing. I mustered enough courage to look at him. To see the figure.

Soul Evans stared back at me.

"S-Soul!" I screeched, wishing I hadn't, knowing there was a full theater of people watching me. I was such an idiot.

"M-Maka you baka!" Soul cried, but he walking forward, off the stage.

And I ran towards him, realizing I was bawling my eyes out and he didn't reject me. He pulled me into one of the tights hugs I'd ever been in. One of his arms wrapped around my shoulder supported me and the other snagged my waist pulling me in.

"S-Soul..." I managed to stammer, hearing people start to talk and get up in question.

"Why did you come you dumbass why?" That was when I realized that one lone tear rolled down Soul's cheek. I couldn't really see though because my head was too busy being buried in his shoulder, while I sobbed.

"Soul why would you break up with me, why?" I demanded. "Do you know how hurt I was?"

Soul's grip only tightened.

"Maka. I love you. You're the closest to heaven that I'll ever be." He informed me, rocking us. "But it's not that easy. I can't just let-" he suddenly looked up and saw his mom. "Dammit."

I closed my eyes.

"I ran into Wes. I thought you guys might've been doing a duet or-"

Soul cut me off, half pulling out of the hug.

"What?" He asked. "Wes isn't supposed to be here..."

My eyes widened.

"Wes was going to stay home. With my dad." Soul told me.

"But I just ran into..." I mumbled.

Realization dawned on Soul, he broke from the hug and his hand slipped into mine.

"Shit." He just said. "I'm so stupid."

He pulled me up the aisle and we ran...we ran as fast as we could from the theater, not like anyone wanted us in there anymore anyway.

Fuck. What the hell was Soul's dad telling me then about Wes going?

I was so happy that I was finally with Soul. I was relieved that he actually loved me but fear crept inside me body. Fear of uncertainty. I didn't like not knowing what was going on. But I knew one thing.

We'd just been played.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note: I sense the presence of an invisible gun :D Lol jk. I know you guys are dying to know what's going on. Don't worry. This isn't going to be like LOST where everything is a lie and there are always random questions. Nohoho! You will know what is happening soon. If I'm feeling like it, I might update twice today. Lol everyone was freaking out over Soul and Maka breaking up. Doesn't ANYONE remember the first paragraph of my story? If not go back and read it ;) Shits gotta happen hey but Soul and Maka are coming back together. More of their resolution shall be revealed next chapter ;) Cuz if I had a boyfriend who did that I'd be slapping him right about now. But they're kinda too busy running. WHERE TO? Haha. Not telling. Just gonna have to wait.<strong>


	30. Chapter 30

_One book in one year, written about your partner. Game on. Oh wait, they're writing about you too. [SoMa, TsuStar, KidLiz]  
><em>

_Rated M for Mature content_

_Genre: Romance, Suspense_

.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o._  
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_Fiction  
><em>

_SunshinGirl09_

Maka

We sprinted away. Away was the only place to go. Soul and I ran as fast as we could but something was inevitable and I couldn't shake off the sense of danger that surrounded me. I could only focus on the warmth of Soul's hand, perhaps warm from playing to piano. Go. Go. Go. We just kept going, out of the convention building, which stirred the guards more, and out onto the street.

"Soul..." I whispered, knowing he couldn't hear me. I was just so glad to have him back.

The feeling of dread that consumed my heard the past few days was starting to decay and disappear. I still needed to talk this out with him but somehow I knew it was going to work out. I knew that Soul was only trying to protect me. But protect me from what. He had better explain.

"Soul," I said louder. "I need to know what's going on!"

His legs only pumped faster.

"I will explain," he informed me. "Don't worry about that. We just gotta go."

I blinked, listening to the storm clouds over head. What was this awful timing. Why did we have to get a storm this week?

"I have a car!" I told him. "That might help!"

He nodded and I started to lead us but then I realized that I wasn't entirely sure of the direction that we needed to go in.

"Wait stop!" I suddenly announced, breaking from our run. "Do you hear that?"

"What?" Soul looked annoyed that we were now immobile.

We both paused, looking around.

Sirens blaring. The sound was coming closer.

"Do you think those are for us?" I questioned, started to walk again.

"For you, maybe. " Soul answered. "How did you get into the convention anyway?"

"I snuck in." I answered, feeling winded because Soul broke into another run.

Soul narrowed his eyes.

"That might be why," he said. "But I'm not entirely sure."

"Sorry..."I apologized, coughing from the lack of air. "I shouldn't have come. I should've waited."

Soul's grip on my hand tightened.

"Truthfully, now that you told me Wes is here, I don't think it would've mattered if you followed me or not." He reasoned.

I simply didn't understand.

"You don't possibly mean that he followed me do you?" I questioned.

"That's exactly what I mean." Soul remarked as we twisted around the corner. "Now where is your car?"

"I-I...don't know." I answered honestly. "I don't know where we are. But you need to explain to me. Why wouldn't it mattered if I-"

A sharp snag on my shoulder cut me off and something hit me in the head. I screeched in pain.

"Maka- OW!" Soul's voice rang loudly also.

I felt the air from my throat leave and I gasped, trying to breathe. Someone was choking me. I struggled against them, trying to get a glimpse of whoever attacked Soul was. Two people had jumped us. Why hadn't we seen them or heard them? Because they were waiting for us. Someone must've warned them maybe? As in, there were more people?

"Jesus Christ!" I gagged. Panic rose inside of me in the way water flowed into a boat filled with holes.

I managed to step on their foot but it only managed to slow them down a little bit. It must've been the person that lead Soul to the convention. The person that was manipulating the situation. However, I still didn't know what the fuck was going on. No one had exactly explained this to me.

Next to me there was a grunting sound and then a thump. I thought that, at first, in horror, Soul had been hurt badly but his capture laid knocked out on the ground.

"Maka!" Soul shouted to me.

I turned, facing him and caught something he'd thrown at me, straining my neck greatly. It was a pot. Instinctively, I brought it up, over my head and crashed it on the person's head who was holding me. The choke hold only increased and for a second I thought I was done for but then he suddenly dropped as if there was a delayed reaction.

My knees collapsed and Soul caught me as I was thrown into a fit of coughing. He rubbed my back and continued to hold me. I clutched onto his sleeve. And that was when I realized he was wearing a _really _nice suit and it was probably getting ruined now.

But then I remembered that I was dressed no more casually.

I could then only look at the people we'd just knocked out and the flower soil everywhere. And then at the porch of the townhouse from which we'd taken their flowers. I really hoped that they didn't wake up and call the polic-

Sirens wailed even more.

"Soul, they're coming!" I scrambled to my feet, knowing it could be impossible to evade the police. Probably getting caught by them for sneaking in was better than defying them for sneaking in and then getting caught.

"It doesn't make sense." He said through gritted teeth. "Why would they come just for you sneaking in?"

I shook my head, allowing him to help me to my feet. We then both looked at each other. Green eyes and red ones meeting in a clash. Like a small battle between our visionary senses.

Soul then pulled me into a kiss, grabbing me by the shoulders. I missed his lips. I missed his tongue. His taste. I missed all of it.

But it didn't last long. He pulled out and grabbed my hand again.

"I guess I'll have to explain on the way." He told me as we began to run again, in search of my car.

"You're damn right, you asshole." I growled at him.

Soul charged us forward.

"It wasn't much, what Wes told me." He explained. "All he said was if I cared about you, I had to let you go. And then I had to go to the music convention. I asked him what if I didn't break up with you."

I gulped, breathing in suddenly. tired of running in these heels. Tired of the curiosity and mystery.

"And what did he say?" I wondered.

Soul couldn't look at me.

"He said the cost could be your life. I tried to ask why. He wouldn't answer. All he said was I had to make it so you wouldn't see me..." Soul paused. "That obviously didn't work." He continued, giving me a look.

My heart ached at the thought. I didn't think Soul had that kind of stuff in him. What kind of guy sacrificed having love? Sacrificed his reputation? Sacrificed his happiness for the well being of another person? Relief and forgiveness washed over me. I couldn't just not forgive someone who put his own feelings aside for the safety of another. Soul let me go, the only person he really loved, so that I would be okay.

"S-Soul..." I felt tears come to my eyes.

"Eh! It's no time for crying!" Soul reminded me. "We're kind of in a situation!"

I nodded, remembering.

"Someone just tried to _kill _us." Soul continued. "It must be related to Wes. He said he wasn't coming. My thought is it has to do something with you. I think that he might be following you."

I gasped at the thought.

"Oh, Soul! It makes sense!" I told him. "I kept having this feeling that someone was watching me, or following me!"

Soul's perplexed expression deepened.

"You think you're confused." He said. "But you're not the only one. Why would Wes make me come to the music convention after I broke up with you? I would already be away from you anyway? I'm so confused."

"There they are!" Policemen were already charging at us from the right side.

"And _why_ the hell are they after us?" Soul demanded, pissed.

I didn't blame him. I didn't quite understand myself.

Soul released his grip and we suddenly jumped over a cart of food, thankfully not knocking it over. That would be a another very angry person that we would have to deal with chasing after us.

The _problem _with this situation was that we didn't know who our enemies were. We _didn't _know what their motive was to get us because we didn't know exactly who they were exactly.

And then I remembered the flash of orange I saw earlier. There was no way. Kyou's gang couldn't have been here could it? That just wasn't possible. I didn't want to think about it but it seemed so..

"Turn!" Soul announced it so quickly that I nearly tripped over my feet.

We stopped, almost running into a busy street. The two of us looked up at the streetlight. It wasn't turning green anytime soon. We quickly glanced around, frustrated with the situation. The people who were after us were growing in numbers, coming from wall to wall.

I wished that we had a chance to check the people who tried to knock us out maybe an ID or something. Too bad the police stopped us before getting a chance to do that or tie them up and interrogate them. Then again, I wasn't a cop. I didn't know who to interrogate people anyway.

It was almost like trying to escape from paparazzi. Some people looked ordinary and unsuspecting. Or some people, cough, the cops were obvious. We just hoped that the policemen coming after us didn't encourage people off the street against us.

I wished I could've found my car. However, I didn't want a car chase either.

While we ran, I pulled out my phone to see if I could find a navigator while Soul led me. I noticed I had more text messages. I had a missed call from my papa. Geez. There was so much to think about right now.

Perhaps I should've just focused on staying alive.

We ran to another street corned but the only way was across and the light for the walker wasn't on.

"S-Soul-"

Too late.

He tugged me across. We nearly got clean to the other side when a taxi nearly ran us over. Our hands unconnected and we rolled off the top and then onto the ground. I felt the skin on my knees rip and so did my wonderful dress. Pain. It wasn't excruciating but it stung.

"Someone stop them!"

Dammit.

Soul picked me up, ignoring the taxi driver swearing like mad, and continued to run.

"Soul, I think I found the way to my car!" I announced, looking at my phone.

Soul looked at me, his face sweaty with effort. For a small moment I thought about how attractive it looked but then I reminded myself of the situation that we were in.

"How?" He questioned.

"Well," I explained. "It's in the complete opposite direction. The other side from where we left the convention center."

"Shit." Soul commented, breathing hard.

I was also having problems inhaling and exhaling. My panting was becoming excessive. It felt like there was constant blood rising in my throat. My breath was very ragged now and I was also sweating, though I doubted it looked even close to attractive.

"I know." I agreed.

"Well we can't just go back." Soul said.

I nodded.

"We probably have to go around to get to the car. Let's just hope they don't have a warrant for our arrest or something." I answered. "I don't want this to follow us back to Death City."

We turned another corner, passing some of the strangest shops.

_I wish I could go back in time._

"What in the world did we do?" I quietly wondered.

Soul and I turned once more, stopping and catching our breath, leaning against a brick wall. I was reminded of our second kiss. It was more...smuttier? than the first one. I think it was when I realized that I loved Soul. It seemed long ago though. I remembered how mad I was that Soul came along. But now I needed him and I wished we were back in that pathetic, no-big-deal situation.

I realized that this was the type of thinking that had crossed my mind when I was kidnapped. Always wishing you could just go back. Go back in time. It's too bad the world didn't have time machines because I really needed one.

Soul just shook his head.

"We're running out of time." He mumbled as the storm clouds grew angrier and the sky was becoming more like night.

"Look Soul!" I cried, pointing to another nightclub. Tokyo was famous for them.

"Maka this is no time to- good idea!" Soul awarded me.

Soul

Okay, it was starting to make sense. We might be able to lose the police in the club. There seemed to be no one monitoring the door for under aged people so we were golden there.

I pulled my girlfriend's hand...well I think my girlfriend.

We disappeared into the flashing lights. Hot, sweaty bodies engulfed us and I had to hold tight so I didn't lose her. It seemed like we were having some sort of dance but we were only running...running through the crowded people.

Purple lights flashed, nearly blinding me.

We found a spot right next to the DJ guarded by dancing bodies. Maybe we'd stay there for five minutes or so. Music blared into our ears. I felt like was was becoming deaf. And sadly, my perfect pitch coming into play, I knew every note that loudly sirened through the club.

Okay it was detective time. We needed to figure out who the _fuck _was messing with us.

"Who do you think is doing this?" I talked into Maka's ear.

She shrugged, talking into mine.

"I-I think it could be Kyou." She said. "I don't know for sure but something else is coming into play here."

I agreed with her and for some reason desperately wanted to dance with her but this wasn't exactly the time. I still needed to work this out with her. I loved her, the fucking wuss that I was.

It was time to go though. I was getting suffocated in hear and it was straying from our goal. I just hoped the police were completely lost and not waiting for us by the entrance or anything.

We fought our way to the back door, an unoccupied room and peeked out the window. No cops.

Then we walked out.

Big. Mistake.

"Agh!" I heard Maka's shriek first and reached out to her but she was snagged away and I felt myself pushed to the dirt. But it wasn't the cops. My first thought was that dickface Kyou but I got a look at the people who were now trying to kill us and they didn't fit the description.

"Maka!" I cried. "Let her go." I growled. "If you value your limbs attached to your body, I suggest you let her go."

I wasn't the one to be making threats but I didn't care. The anger inside me only rose.

Maka was suddenly shoved to the ground next to me. I grabbed her arm, trying to get a clear look at the two guys. I could kick their ass easily but I had to see what I was up against first. It would be a little difficult if they had weapons.

"Come on, Maka." One of the guys said. "Don't you remember me?"

Maka looked up at him as he stepped into the light, squinting.

There was a distinct hole in his upper lips and his hair was swooped to one side. That was kind of gross. She looked at the other guy.

"I don't...the hole!" Her eyes widened and I wanted to ask her what she was talking about while she was having her little epiphany.

The guy cackled.

"Bitch. If you don't remember who I am I'm going to-"

"N-Nao!" Maka suddenly cried.

I racked my brain, suddenly remembering Maka's story about Kyou. He kicked one of the guys she was with so his tooth went straight through his lip. This was that guy. And his friend...

"A-And...that's Aoi?" Maka asked.

What the hell do these two have against Maka? Then I remembered her story. Oh fuck. Why they hell was this going on?

"Mmm...hesitation." Nao stepped closer, his long black hair moving over his eyes. "Well it's _too _late, Maka Albarn."

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note: Ahhh! Sorry I got you excited for another chapter and then I skipped a day lol. There's still some confusion going on isn't there? Yeah I don't think there's any way any of you will guess how this ties together buuuut you can try? :D So yeah. When I make stories I like to pull really insignificant details and make them big later on. I'm kiiinda a bitch like that ;) But anyway review. I heard there's some crazy shit like deleting rated M stories or something like that? -_- No. I have my story backed up but if it gets deleted...Imma be pissed. Then I'll have to reupload it rated T and lose all my reviews T_T Anyway that's just what I heard...someone tell me if you have any info on that buttt anyway. REVIEW XD<strong>


	31. Chapter 31

_One book in one year, written about your partner. Game on. Oh wait, they're writing about you too. [SoMa, TsuStar, KidLiz]  
><em>

_Rated M for Mature content_

_Genre: Romance, Suspense_

.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o._  
><em>

_Fiction  
><em>

_SunshinGirl09_

Liz

Kid's breath tickled my nose and his hand rested on my shoulder. He leaned over and I clutched the sofa gulping. When did we get like this? I was totally swooning. Before, I would look for any way to kick his pretty boy ass but now he was the one in control...well as long as he was pinning me down in a symmetrical way that is. I just hoped that Patty really was at the park harassing pigeons like she said. I could see that being a lie.

I felt small next to him. And it wasn't size-wise considering I was taller. It was in intelligence. I realized how freaking smart Kid was. It was in the way he had control over me. I felt small maybe because I knew he could control me with his words.

Honestly, I didn't know why he put up with me. I was a crazy bitch right? I was someone who used to live on the streets. Why would rich Kid ever pick us up and invite us to his home? Was it because he was my partner? Was it because he felt bad? I didn't know what it was about him but I trusted him now. He and Patty were the only people I truly trusted...well Patty for the most part sometimes trusting her was sketchy.

But there was something about Kid that I trusted, which didn't make sense because he was obsessively compulsive. But then there _was _that. When Kid went OCD on everyone, I wanted to be the one to calm him. I wanted to be the one to make him feel better, no matter how annoying or repetitive his random symmetrical attacks were. I _wanted _to be there for _him_.

"Kid...what if Patty comes?" I wondered.

I didn't think that he heard me or he must've been not listening because his lips brushed against mine and then went deeper. I closed my eyes, caught up in the moment. Oh it was so nice having another person.

We were like boyfriend and girlfriend in hiding. I wished we could've come out like Maka and Soul. Which, finally, happened. I was actually proud of those two kids because honestly, I thought it was never going to happen though it needed to. Their relationship sung out.

But I didn't know if Kid and I could do that. I had my sister and I didn't want her to feel left out. She'd probably act like she wasn't sad. She'd probably cover it up with hyperactive behavior. I never wanted her to feel that way. I was the only person she had. And Kid. We were her and only family and those two were my only family. Our parents left us so we had nowhere to go.

If Kid and I started a relationship that could ruin everything.

My hands moved down to Kid's biceps and I also felt even more inferior. I could've beat him in an arm wrestle...maybe. But I had a few glimpses of Kid's athleticness especially during basketball and I suddenly started to doubt my self defense skills. Not that I would need them against Kid.

Oh and then the fact that he's always wearing a suit. Guys in suits. Ugh. Can't even...too hot.

We were both panting now and Kid had this smirk on his face. The more inferior I started to feel...that damn bastard. Why did he have to do this to me? I was supposed to be a strong, independent woman. Fuck.

Yet I was the one who wanted to go out with him.

"K-Kid y-"

"HEY GUYS!" Patty chirped, causing me nearly to scream.

Kid fell off on me and we both scrambled to our feet, beet red, rubbing our necks.

"Ugh...sorry for _falling _on you, Liz!" Kid suddenly exclaimed.

"Gee...that's ,ugh, okay!" I announced loudly.

We both looked at Patty and in unison asked, "What?"

Patty rocked back and forth on her heels, smiling.

"Phone call!" She pulled my cell phone from behind her back.

"Who is it?" I wondered, walking towards her, hoping my face wasn't looking as hot as it felt.

"It's Tsuuuubaaaki!" Patty cheered, dropping the phone in my fingertips and giving Kid a wink which made him gulp, glancing over at me.

Patty stalked away and I gave Kid a look, shaking my head and rolling my eyes before putting the phone to my ear.

"Hey what's up?" I inquired.

"Hey, Liz?" Tsubaki asked into the phone. "I have a question."

"Shoot." I told her, eager to get my mind off of Kid's lips and his-

"Have you seen Maka _or _Soul anywhere?" Tsubaki wondered and I could hear the concern in her voice.

I furrowed my brows in confusion.

"Um, no," I answered. "Why? Should I have seen them?"

"Well I haven't seen Maka anywhere and I've called her and texted her for two days straight. She seemed super depressed yesterday at school and Soul's been missing for almost a week!"

Well I knew about Soul and I knew Maka was depressed but she was missing? She wasn't answering her texts? What the heck?

"Did you check her apartment?" I responded, switching ears and giving Kid a confused look, blinking.

"I knocked but no one answered." Tsubaki informed me. "I don't think her father knows either."

"You think they ran away or something?" I suggested, hoping that wasn't true. I knew the streets better than any of the kids at school and they weren't pretty, especially for newcomers. I didn't know if they'd last a day. I didn't think Maka had ever even seen a gang before. There's no way she could have been able to deal with _those _types of people. However, something gave me the idea that Maka didn't easily take shit from anyone. And then Soul...

"I hope not!" Tsubaki squeaked. "That'd be terrible! Black Star can't even get a hold of Soul."

I frowned. Something was definitely suspicious. But what was going on? I hoped that I wasn't the only one confused out of their mind.

"Listen, I'll call you back." I told Tsubaki. "Looks like Kid and I'll look around the city for them."

"'Kay bye!" Tsubaki hung up.

_Click!_

"What's going on?" Kid wondered.

I looked at him, sighing.

"We got some missing kids." I replied, hands on hips. "Come on."

Maka

Soul suddenly blocked a kick from Nao that was supposed to connect with my face. We suddenly scrambled upward, backing away from Nao and Aoi. They came forward, but stopped after one step. Something caught my eye. A swagger...was one of them drunk? They both seemed to glare at me with hatred. And then they looked at Soul.

"You're not supposed to _be_ here." Aoi informed Soul.

Soul raised his eyebrows, about to come up with some smart ass remark but Nao came in first.

"Correction. _She's _not supposed to be here." Nao corrected Aoi.

They both nodded and left Soul and I in confusion. How the heck did they know that I was the one who was attending the convention and not in it. Well, I wasn't really _attending _it. More like interrupting it.

"Okay someone..._someone _please just TELL me what's GOING ON!" Soul cried, still searching for weapons on the two. "I don't care what the hell you guys wanna do to us. Okay maybe I do. But just TELL me what's going on. What did we do to you? Are we being followed? What are the cops doing? Just _please _tell us why this is all happening if you want to have the goddamn right to harass us." Soul growled at them, still not letting his guard down.

The two boys in front of us cackled loudly.

"I can't believe what we're hearing." Nao mumbled. "Do you even know what _she _did to us?"

"No!" I cut in. "What did _I _do to you? Huh?"

Nao scowled, looking upward.

"LOOK AT MY FUCKING LIP!" He nearly screeched, putting his pinky through the hole.

I clutched Soul's arm, feeling disgusted but bad at the same time. But I didn't have time to comment.

"Your _boyfriend _gave me that." Nao grumbled. "And what did you do? Stand by and watch!"

"I tried to protect you!" I screamed, feeling my eyes water. Talking about that night last year always did this to me.

"Jesus, I'm going crazy." Nao announced. "You _left _me there. You didn't even call the police! Thanks to you I got beat up even _more_!"

"I _did _take their gun away!" I told him. "Saved you from getting shot. Besides, I didn't even know where you were! I practically got raped and they threatened me. What was I supposed to do?"

Nao rolled his eyes.

"Selfish bitch." He growled. "Look what you did to Aoi, who used to like you!"

I received another glare, feeling how uncomfortable Soul was next to me.

"He looks fine!" I snapped, getting annoyed by this. This better have connected to everything in a more relevant way because this better have not been the reason for all my heartbreak and pain.

"Fine!" Aoi cried. He lifted up his pant leg, revealing a terrible looking scar. Then he limped towards me.

Shit. He wasn't drunk like I thought, he was permanently injured.

"Oh my god." I commented. "I am so sorry that happened to you!" I wanted him to know I was sincere and that I cared. It really looked painful. But I didn't do that to hi-

"Thanks to _Kyou_, I have this wonderful injury for life!" Aoi cried. "I got it for loving you! You never noticed! You never visited me in the hospital or the entire year and a half that I was in physical therapy! Even before this you didn't notice me!"

"I'm really sorry!" I apologized. "But I personally didn't do this to you! It's not my fault that Kyou is a _crazy _dickface okay?"

Aoi stomped the ground and I was frightened for a second that his leg would shatter but it seemed fine. Soul seemed less concerned. He was just clutching my arm.

"Bullshit, Maka!" Aoi retorted, Nao almost speaking the same thing. "Your heartless because you didn't even care!"

Tears were now streaming down my face. This didn't seem fair. I didn't do this to them.

"I-I'm sorry! Really! None of this was intentional!" I cried.

"It's too late to apologize, Maka." Nao informed me. "Now don't worry. This isn't intentional."

The knife came from nowhere. I jumped back but Soul stepped in front of me and I wanted to cry. The knife slashed at his knee, which came up to knock the weapon out of the way. It sliced through Soul's fancy pant leg and blood oozed through. Itt wasn't life threatening but it still made tears stream from my cheeks. I clutched Soul's arm even harder and cried.

"H-Hey!" I scolded. "Move! I can't let you get hurt!"

"Why didn't you do this for me, huh?" Aoi wondered, grabbing Soul onto Soul, trying to push him away from me however he only earned a punch from that and stumbled back.

But while Soul was preoccupied with him, Nao popped up, hitting Soul in the neck, who clutched it in pain. My wrist was grabbed roughly by Nao and I was thrown into the wall. My head crashed into it and I felt suddenly dizzy, my head spinning and panic rising. I felt some substance trickle from my head. It must've blood but it didn't seem serious. But it hurt like a bitch.

When my vision returned to me I saw Nao smirking. That bastard. I could see the sin in his grin.

I scrambled to my feet and backed into Soul, suddenly dodging a hit from Aoi who was back on his feet again. I was shaking. This seemed bad. There was still a knife somewhere and I doubted the police were a reliable source of help.

"Ahaha." Nao chuckled, a smile returned by Aoi. "This is like a game isn't it?"

They seemed to be enjoying our terror. I think that Soul was more afraid of me getting hurt than his own safety.

"It's funny, isn't it?" Aoi asked Nao. "How the tables have turned."

I didn't find it very funny at all. It was sadistic.

Soul backed me into the wall but I scooched out from behind him, earning myself a glare. There was an intense moment of silence. Calm before a storm.

_Slash._

The knife was back and terror filled me as Soul and I both dodged it. I tried to run past Aoi but he ended up stopping my with his foot in my stomach. I really should've taken more self defense lessons from Liz.

Goddammit.

I swung around, trying to punch him but instead he took my fist and put it behind my back, pressing me into the ground. The pressure was making my body shake insanely in pain. Unable to stand it, I launched my foot into his face from under me and somersaulted over his body. It would've looked cool if I had actually landed on my feet and maybe if I didn't have such a frightened expression on my face.

But before I could enjoy the microscopic moment of glory, Nao was suddenly attacking me but Soul pulled him back by the collar and punched him in the jaw, sending him into the wall which he crashed into with full force.

I thought about how much that would hurt but then it was suddenly happening to me. Aoi had recovered and shoved me to the ground where my already bleeding head had been hit causing an explosion of pain. Blackness started to engulf me in flashes but I refused to let it take over.

I was up on my feet, realizing this was the first real fight I had with someone. Last time with Kyou it was more of a kidnapping. I hadn't done much but I now tat we weren't going anywhere and these two kids that I once knew as sweet people just wanted to beat us to a bloody pulp over something that wasn't even my fault. Shouldn't they have been hurting Kyou? Maybe they thought that they couldn't take him.

However, I certainly wasn't interested in fighting to death. In fact, the knife on the ground was making me grow more nervous.

Now, how would we outmatch these two very _angry _people?

"Maka." Soul addressed me, taking my hand, pulling me to him and looking at Nao and Aoi. "You've got some pretty _messed up _friends here from ninth grade."

I nodded. He didn't even _know_.

"_She _messed us up." Nao spat with hatred, trying to grab for me but was caught by Soul, who twisted his wrist and sent him stumbling back with another punch. The second one to his face.

"If this is all you planned on doing, you're failing miserably." Soul informed them.

I wanted to slap him for provoking them further.

"Oh really?" Aoi challenged. "Sorry you feel that way. Here maybe this will help."

He pulled out a gun. I froze. It wasn't one of those shiny toy guns either.

I suddenly was thinking about how much I wanted to live. I'd thought about how life would be if I just didn't have to live it but with a gun in my face I really started to think about living not being so bad. Shit. I _really _wanted to survive.

Soul stiffened and I could feel him gravitate in front of me.

My muscles contracted and I was in front of him now. No matter how much I wanted to live, my muscles reacted faster than my brain and I outstretched my arms in front of Soul, who tried to pull them away and shove me behind him but I was firmly planted. He would've had to hurt me in order to make me move.

For a second, I saw Nao twitch. His eyebrows furrowed and then they released, the look on his face leaving.

"Perfect. Just the one we want to kill." He said, regaining conscience.

My eyes water but I refused to let the tears fall for the second time. I had to look as strong as possible. Soul's nails dug into my shoulders though.

"Maka," He dangerously warned. "If you don't move, I'm going to hurt you." His voice was a low growl and I could tell he was pissed.

"Soul," I whispered back, looking behind me and upwards. "I love-"

The shot rose above my voice but the pain rose even higher.

"Oops. Slipped."

Pain exploded in my calf and I realized that was where the bullet was now dug deep. My screech rose loudly and I felt tears squeeze down. I was in so much pain that I couldn't think of a time where I had been in so much pain. It felt like someone had taken a sledgehammer and tried to hammer a nail in my calf. I could only shriek and I felt myself blacking out but Soul's screaming and hands on my shoulder helped me fight to stay awake.

Then the panic had set in, my conscience fighting it back. I had just been fucking _shot_. My adrenaline kicked in, making me grab my leg and squeeze as hard as possible. But no amount of squeezing was doing my leg any justice.

And then it started to burn. I literally thought my leg was on fire. I actually wondered if Aoi had suddenly acquired a flamethrower and was pressing it to my leg. That's how much it burned. This was not like it was in the movies.

I was just fighting to gain consciousness. I didn't know how people in the movies even talked coherently when they were shot. All I wanted was the pain to go away and suddenly, blacking out didn't seem like such a bad idea, but I remembered Soul and that was my constant that kept me awake..

"Your turn?" I realized that Aoi was addressing Soul and my shaking body sat up and I fought to stand on one leg, sweat beaded down my forehead and the clouds overhead thundered. How was I even doing this?

I thought about how much I didn't want to be shot again yet no amount of incoherent thinking could stop my muscles from trying to stand in front of my boyfriend, I think my boyfriend. But unfortunately, he happened to be stronger than me and pulled me up behind him, crying. He was crying.

"You fucking bastard. How could you shoot her, huh?" Soul cried, spitting, clutching me.

It still felt like my leg had gotten into a bad argument with a matchstick. The burning sensation was only worsening and the blood had soaked my hands and the legs of my pants. The actual stinging pain though had gone down from the initial point of impact. My brain must've been blocking some of it it. And now only the intense burning remained.

My poor, beautiful dress.

Aoi was about to shoot again and I shut my eyes but though the gun was prepped, there was no fire and I opened my eyes.

Nao was standing in front of Soul and I.

"I'm sorry, Aoi." Nao informed him, looking me in the eye. "I'm just returning the favor."

Maybe now he was actually remembering that I stood in front of him, preventing Kyou from beating him to a bloody pulp.

My breath was ragged and I was still struggling to inhale and exhale but I managed a reply.

"Little late there." I coughed, blood becoming a strip down one side of my mouth. What the hell? I was delirious but I knew that I was shot in the cough and not the stomach. I shouldn't have had internal bleeding in my organs.

"I'm sorry." Nao sadly said, looking back at me. "But thinking about ninth grade, how we were all harassed by Kyou the rest of the year...it's so painful. I keep forgetting how much you suffered too and only remembered you leaving."

I squinted in pain, holding onto Soul's hand too tightly.

"Now that I think about it," Nao continued probably forgetting about how much pain I was currently in. "I would've done the same thing that you did. There's no time to think. You just gotta go."

I nodded but was more focused on how nice a hospital would've been sometime soon. But the police could've found me right? Where did they go? The sirens were no longer sounding, only the sound of the thunder.

Soul clutched me.

Aoi glared at Nao angrily.

"At least you can walk properly." he hissed at his friend. "This is permanent."

I was reminded that Aoi was the one with the gun. My leg was distracting my from formulating a respectable escape plan though. I hoped Soul had something in mind to get me to a hospital.

"A-Aoi..." I addressed him, shaking with sweat and pain. "I'm s-sorry. I really am but _Kyou _is the one you should hate, okay? This isn't fair w-what you're doing to me." I felt inspiration flowing now. Though the pain seemed to be blinding me, sentences that made sense still came out. "You _never _talked to me . It was a one-sided love in which we probably weren't even friends. We had a conversation maybe once a week so how can you expect me to be sweet with you when you never _seemed _to care about me! I didn't even know you liked me until there was a rumor that you got hurt from Kyou BUT I don't listen to rumors. I listen to the guys that have the fucking guts to tell me in person that they want to be friends and are so-called in love with me!"

Tears streamed from my eyes and the pain increased. My calf didn't seem too fond of inspirational speeches. But that was hardly inspirational.

Aoi cocked the gun but it shook in his hand, pointed at my head and for a frightening moment, I thought he was definitely going to pull the trigger. But he didn't. It seemed like we were all falling down.

There was an eerie silence between the four of us.

The sound of the gun dropping and clanking broke it.

Aoi came forward and pushed Nao away. For a second I thought he was going to kill me but he knelt down and ripped off his t shirt, revealing a skinny stomach and wrapped it around my calf just as rain started to fall.

I thought maybe the rain would calm the burning sensation in my leg. Too bad that it wasn't actually fire because the water was making the burning worse times 3.

"Listen," Aoi told Soul. "Get her to a hospital."

"I fucking _know _that!" he replied.

Soul

It was sad that even with Maka's terrible, ripped, _shot _state, that I thought she looked like an angel sent from heaven. But her beauty wasn't a distraction to me. I knew I had to get her to a hospital. I couldn't let the only girl I loved die in my arms like this. Okay. I was getting worked up. The bullet was lodged painfully into her calf so she probably wasn't going to die.

But I wanted to save her leg.

I picked her up thanking god for her skinniness. I was strong anyway though.

"What about Wes?" I wondered. "What are you and my brother planning?"

"You don't have to worry about him." Nao informed me. "He doesn't have any intention on hurting Maka."

I didn't know what he meant but that was enough of an answer for me. We could only worry about one thing at a time and I think the first thing on my priority list would be getting Maka to a hospital before her leg got infected. This rain wasn't doing it any justice judging by her whining.

"Okay, I'm pretty sure there's a hospital th-that way." Aoi pointed down the alley.

"Basically the direction that we came from here." I corrected.

"_Basically _where you were supposed to be in the first place." Aoi recorrected.

I was too distracted by my girlfriend shaking in my arms to care about his knowledge of my supposed location.

"You mean the music convention." I assumed.

"Two blocks from there."

I broke into a run, not even caring about calling the cops on those two. I didn't even know what they were up to. I didn't care. Maka _needed _medical help.

Thank god the streetlights were on our side. I bolted across, holding Maka wondering what the hell was wrong with people. No one offered me a ride. No one asked me if she was okay. Society...

We were now in the alley and it felt like my arms were going to fall off and my legs were going to collapse but I could only imagine what Maka was feeling. This rain was helping my sight either.

Suddenly Maka gripped me harder and I thought she was in more pain but she pointed to the two guys on the ground that we knocked out. I urged her to just leave them, knowing the rain could wake them up any minute.

She pointed down and I let her down holding her while she searched the guys jacket. I held her waist tighter. And then she pulled out an orange bandana. It was too late by the time we realized what was going on.

"Maka," a chilling voice made Maka whimper and go stiff, clutching my hand impossibly tight. "Fancy seeing you here."

I turned around and faced the boy who had scarred my girlfriend for life.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note: Ahaha. Sorry long time for an update but the past two days I've been at my dad's girlfriends. She's moving into my dad's house so we've been nonstop packing for days and I'm exhausted. We finally got everything in the house and started to unpack a little but we're taking a break and I just had to update. I TRIED! I TRIED TO DIE DOWN THE CONFUSION IN THIS CHAPTER. It's super long and I really tried to explain it but it was getting to be too long for that and I've been writing for three hours ugh. Sooo sorry. I trieeeed to fit it into one chapter but there's so much to write. So yeah. Maka got shot. Probably hurts and I think you guys knew that Kyou was going to show up sooner or later. The whole climax of the story is supposed to be built around all the ninth grade hints from the beginning and Maka's story plus Soul's leaving and it will ALL be explained. In time. I had to stop though. Got more unpacking to do. T_T and dance. I'm really sorrrrrryyyyyy! Honestly. Don't worry though. All questions shall be answered. Look at it this way. People were begging for more KidLiz aaaand LONG CHAPTER XD Sooo review please?<strong>


	32. Chapter 32

_One book in one year, written about your partner. Game on. Oh wait, they're writing about you too. [SoMa, TsuStar, KidLiz]  
><em>

_Rated M for Mature content_

_Genre: Romance, Suspense_

.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o._  
><em>

_Fiction  
><em>

_SunshinGirl09_

Maka

Perhaps I would've displayed a better reaction had I not been shot. Kyou stared at me for a few seconds, observing my body. Seriously though, it felt like my leg was about to fall off. Could he not see that I was soaking everything within a two foot radius in blood. Our eyes met and I narrowed mine. Surprisingly, I wasn't frightened of him. He did set my senses on fire but I didn't take off running, not like I could. But his face did make me flashback like crazy.

Soul was in front of me now, but I craned my neck to see my ex-boyfriend. I didn't really miss him at all. I used to have my hormones ignited at the sight of his face and beautiful muscles but they were more like a beautiful nightmare now. The teenager in front of Soul and me was pure evil at heart.

"Likewise." I told Kyou. "It _has _been a while, hasn't it?"

Kyou smirked and folded his arms, droplets of rain falling down his bare skin. He wore plain jeans and a wife beater, not even looking cold. On his head he had a sideways Yankee's cap. I was reminded of the baseball cap Soul gave to me that was rested in my room.

I felt my body tremble in pain as I tried to stand, balancing myself by clutching Soul's shoulder. He returned the clutch. I wasn't eager to show Kyou that Soul and I were pretty friendly. It would only make Soul a target. However, I needed him right now.

"What brings you to this...vicinity?" I wondered, sweat beading down my neck, mixing with the rain.

Kyou raised his eyebrows as if wondering if I was joking.

"Well, you're _not _supposed to be here, young lady." I cringed at what he referred to me as. "But I'm just here to punish a naughty girl."

Soul was still remaining silent. He really had nothing to say. He didn't know Kyou. He didn't knew what Kyou could do. He was just my boyfriend who knew the story but not anyone in it. And I was perfectly fine with that.

"Oh yeah?" I challenged. "What did I do?"

The pain was becoming unbearable though. I was getting out of shock because I knew I couldn't die but if I didn't get to a hospital quickly, it'd get infected and I _really _was not interested in amputation.

I felt the tension in the air rise. Kyou hated to be tested. He hated resistance. Maybe that was why he dated me. Because I was the only one who _did _resist him. The only one that he actually had to try to control. I was a one man army. However, you don't put people in the hospital for someone you don't care about.

"What did you do?" Kyou laughed, a cold drawling laugh. "What I told you exactly _not _to do!"

I looked at him, confused, the rain blinding me.

"I don't know what you're talking about." I informed him, glaring daggers, still clutching my throbbing calf.

"Oh?" Kyou wondered. "Maybe this will refresh your memory, clear your mind."

He pulled out a gun and my gut seemed to tighten, my grip on Soul increasing. We were both shaking again. Another gun. This time it was in the hands of someone who never hesitated to pull the trigger.

"It doesn't necessarily matter if you remember _what _you did." Kyou said. "As long as I kill you."

My body trembled as I attempted to search my memory for something that I did, recently, to possibly piss Kyou off. Nothing was coming to mind. I was in too much shock to remember. A gun in my face. You think it'd clear your mind but it was only jamming it.

"Does it matter?" Soul spoke up. "You don't know her anymore or interact with her so what she does doesn't affect you."

"Oh shut up," Kyou cut in. "You're dying too." He waved the gun as if showing how much he didn't care killing people. "Your life is mine to take."

Tears cut down my cheeks, blending with the rain like my sweat.

I was in so much pain with a shot to the leg. I couldn't imagine what getting shot in a vital organ felt like.

"This is why I hate you." I mumbled, annoyed.

"Still can't remember?" Kyou questioned.

I shook my head.

"I haven't done anything wrong." I remarked.

"Eh," He said. "Too bad. I was going to let you live for a few more minutes too."

As he said that, Soul was covering my body with his just as we heard the click of the gun and I shrieked loudly. But it was a click. There was no shot. Soul moved off of me shaking, as we heard another click. Then another.

The gun wasn't loaded.

"Dammit!" Kyou cursed, chucking the weapon of destruction at the ground.

But before I knew it, I was on Soul's back as he darted down the alley as fast as he could away from Soul. We just narrowly avoided being killed there. I felt the life return to my lungs as I could breathe again.

"Where are we going?" I breathed through the water hitting my face.

Soul shook his head.

"Somewhere with a lot of people." He replied, unsure of his answer.

"The music convention?" I offered, figuring a club wasn't going to help us. Besides, there was more security by the theaters so they would surely help break up a fight. Plus it was close. By the time we got to the police station it'd be already over.

"Remember, Soul," I continued. "Kyou has his gang by his side. They could-" Suddenly a body slammed into us, sending our bodies rolling.

I tried to scramble back up, Soul helping. But he quickly dropped me and sent a punch forward into someone's jaw. Whoever just knocked us over nearly got knocked out right then but he was on his feet again.

Soul scuffled with him more, another punch to the gut.

"Maka, go!" Soul demanded.

Like a could run. Or leave him. I wasn't going to.

"I swear to god if you don't get going, he's going to get you!" Soul's words brought my mind back again and I started limping as fast as I could.

What if Kyou stopped by Soul? What if Kyou attacked him? What if Soul would be double teamed? I tried to reassure myself by reminding my brain that Kyou was after me. But he wanted both of us dead. Shit.

His footsteps were growing closer which let me know that he hadn't attacked Soul...yet...so I picked up the pace. There was only a block and a half more to go. Instinctively, I limped to the back of the building to the window.

I wished someone would just keep Kyou separated from me. I really didn't want to come out and play with him. Not with his fist at least.

It took all my efforts just to climb through the window. I ended up hitting my leg on the way down and screeched loudly, allowing Kyou to know my presence. I tried to search for the stairs in the dark but I figured it'd be impossible to climb them.

"Oh, Maka?" Kyou called, causing my heart to skip a beat and not in a good way. "Where are you?"

Shit. I was trapped. I should've thought before I jumped that I wouldn't have been able to climb up the stairs. Not with this searing pain in my calf.

I silently crept back into the shadows. I heard something crunch under Kyou's feet as he landed inside the basement. Then I heard him drum his fingers against a harp. Oh fuck. We were in a room of musical instruments. I forgot. Okay. They didn't seem so beautiful to me now.

This was why I hated Kyou.

"Mmm...what a nice sound." Kyou said as if he was pondering. "Almost like your singing. Would you sing for me again Maka, like you used to?"

That fucking liar. I was an awful singer but he liked to sit there and play with my hair while he made fun of my singing. Shivers went through my body as I was reminded of our days when we dated. They were all a beautiful lie.

I stepped backwards, trying to avoiding him, but of course I stepped on a pair of cymbals. Dammit.

_Clash_.

Kyou immediately started to stalk towards me and I stepped back again. The sound of a flute being crushed filled the room also and Kyou followed the sounds. I thanked god for the darkness but it only made the fear in my heart more clear. Where was Kyou? Where was my enemy?

Harassing people like this couldn't have been legal.

Kyou was meant to live for so much more than hunting down ex-girlfriends and killing them for unexplained reasons. I thought he was bad before but now had definitely lost himself.

I was starting to wonder what I even liked about him before.

"Come on, darling." Kyou cooed. "Get your ass over here."

I tripped over a string bass that was lying down and deepened the crack that already ran across right under the bridge. **A/N: I'm in orchestra lol that's why I know all about the stringed** **instruments**.

I was so scared that for a moment I thought I was more scared than when I got shot. Then I remembered my leg was still throbbing anxiously and thought against that. I was mostly afraid of my calf getting infected and having to get it amputated because it sure felt like it wasn't very clean. Acidic rainwater probably wasn't the best for it.

Suddenly lightning light filled the room, thunder clapped and the sound of crashing cymbals blared. The flickers of light revealed Kyou too close for comfort and I shrieked as he leaped at me. I rolled to the side, letting him crash into the piano while he gripped my ankle. Thankfully it was my other leg but I was still freaking out. He had me.

His fist struck me in the side and I doubled over in pain.

"There you are, beautiful!"

I felt blood stream from my mouth uncontrollably and for a second I thought I was drowning in it, though it was so little. Tears followed and I got up and dashed, kicking away his hand from my ankle.

He scrambled after me and tackled me down, breaking the scroll of a violin.

I tried to break free from him. There were so many tears that I cried for him and I didn't want that to continue six feet under. If it was continuing, it was definitely not going to be in the ground. I wasn't about to go under.

I hit his head with mine and immediately it throbbed in pain. Definitely a fucking lie in the movies. That shit hurt.

In panic, I rose to my feet, feeling my calf burn as I reached the steps. But Kyou was faster and soon enough his strong arms were around my neck, choking me and I gasped for air.

"Not...going...under..." I breathed, not wanting to die. Not yet. Living just sounded like such a better idea.

"Really? I'm going to kill you!" Kyou threatened, causing more panic in my heart. I didn't want to be killed here. There was so much more that I had to do in life. There was so much that I _needed _to do.

I squirmed around so I was facing him, dangerously close to his lips. His grip loosened slightly as if this was bringing back memories. Tears in my eyes, blood everywhere. And so close we could kiss.

But then I kneed him in the balls and made a run for it as he crumpled on the floor in pain.

"Maka!" he growled in pain.

I stumbled up the steps, screaming in pain as I walked with both legs all the way up. I broke through the door at the top, dripping with rainwater and sweat. Kyou fumbled after me and I crawled forward, getting up.

I didn't care about the pain in my leg, though it was searing. I was running for my life. This was no game. Kyou had almost choked me to death and he didn't hesitate to shoot me back in the alley. He wasn't messing around. He wanted to kill me.

I didn't have a choice in this either. I didn't _know _what I did to piss him off so much he'd come to kill me.

"Why me?" I gasped, limping past people and running into someone from security. "Please!" I begged. "You have to help me! This guy is after me!"

I pointed at Kyou who was tearing through the crowd.

"Hey you're the girl from before!" He grabbed my arm angrily.

"No!" I argued. "I'm not the one that you want!"

We glared at each other.

"I am _shot_." I hissed, furiously. "Go get _him_!"

"You're not the boss around here, miss!" He retorted, squeezing my arm.

I was suddenly yanked aside by the charging Kyou. I screeched loudly, trying to get the guard to do something about this but Kyou dragged me away while I screamed.

"Don't worry," Kyou told the man. "I'll take her to the police. She's making a disturbance here."

"Finally," the man breathed. "Thank you."

"This isn't fair!" I cried, kicking and punching at random, nearly killing some little boy who almost skipped into my fist. Other people around me seemed to just be staring but not doing anything. What would _you _do in this situation? Would _you _help?

The hunter had his kill.

And now Kyou was taking me outside.

This _was _the kill.

I shook in his grip, aching to squeeze my leg which was set ablaze from running on it.

Rain greeted my soaking head again and I was suddenly freezing.

"Kyou..." I dangerously murmured. "Would you care to explain _what_ I did before you take my life?"

Kyou just chuckled and looked at me, pushing my head aside so our eyes met.

"Oh babe," He said. "You don't really know, do you?"

I bit my lip, biting back anger. How was I _supposed _to know. I hadn't had contact with him.

He suddenly pushed me down on the ground so I was there kneeling. He put his hand around my neck and put his other in his pocket, pulling out a cell phone. I hoped that the rain would render it useless. But the only thing rendered useless was my idea.

"Yeah...would you please bring a _gun_. I don't think choking her is going to work." I crinkled my nose at this. Instead of being more afraid, I was only angered. This wasn't even fair. None of this. I hadn't done anything to him.

I wanted Soul.

"Maka." Kyou said when he hung up the phone. "You brought this upon yourself. You d-"

"Let her go!" A nasally voice rang above the pounding rain.

Ox Ford came into my view. I had seen him before but I had thought nothing of it. I totally forgot that he was here.

"Shut up you little worm." Kyou snarled at him. "This is all your fault anyway, that she's dying."

Ox stepped forward more, causing Kyou to release my neck and get closer to the spikey haired boy. Ox, who had once been a mere stranger to me when it came to a level of friendliness, was looking pretty brave right now, considering he was standing up to a buff guy that just ordered his friend to bring a gun.

But why? What the FUCK did Ox have to do with this? Honestly! I was starting to pick out the pieces, though I couldn't put them together, but now Ox was thrown in there and the whole puzzle just went up a level. It went from a hundred piece puzzle to a thousand piece one in a matter of seconds.

God dammit. Why did this shit have to be so confusing?

Where was Soul? I needed him. I had to have his presence. I had to have my regulation.

Kyou's phone started to ring. Without taking his eyes from Ox, he tossed me the phone and ordered me to put in on speaker.

"Don't even think about trying to call anyone." He added.

I clicked it on speaker phone.

"What?" Kyou snapped, still facing Ox, as if the skinny nerd was a threat to him.

"Yeah um," a familiar voice rang through, that broke a smile through my face. "I don't think that gun's coming to you any time soon."

"Soul..." I whispered.

"The fuck...?" Kyou wondered.

We sat on the sidewalk in silence waiting for something.

_Click. _

And there it was.

Soul stood there with the cocked gun pressed to Kyou's temple, disguised by the rain.

"You can't pull the trigger." Kyou told him.

"You don't know me." Soul remarked, coolly. His voice was frighteningly calm and I was glad I wasn't in Kyou's position. Soul looked so dangerous.

"Oh but I know him." Another voice joined in.

I tried to see through the blinding rain and another cloudy figure came into view. And it was Wes. That fucking little-

"After all, he _is _my brother."

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note: OH I AM EVIL! Ahaha. Sorry I couldn't update cuz I was hanging out with people having a life lol. Triple sleepovers. Went to an amusement park yesterday. Valleyfair for those of you that live in MN (if there are any -_-) And boy...it is fun. Went on all the crazy roller coasters. My friend and I went on the steepest one 13 times. Came home with a headache. Gee. Imagine that. Well. Review. Because reviews make everything better. Did it turn to comment or something? changed the format again. I hate modern-ish formats now. Well not really that much lol. So anyway ... review ... comment ... feedback ... you know the usual :D<strong>


	33. Chapter 33

_One book in one year, written about your partner. Game on. Oh wait, they're writing about you too. [SoMa, TsuStar, KidLiz]  
><em>

_Rated M for Mature content_

_Genre: Romance, Suspense_

.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o._  
><em>

_Fiction_

_Sunshinegirl09  
><em>

Maka

So of course Wes just appears out of nowhere. I was tired of all these new people stepping onto the scene. At least he didn't have a gun. Speaking of which, Soul still had the gun he stole from one of the gang members pressed to Kyou's temple, who by the way, looked surprisingly calm for having it there. Something told me Kyou must've been in these situations a lot.

I, on the other hand, was still shivering by the ground and my leg throbbed in unbelievable pain. It wasn't unbearable anymore though because I was used to it. However, I was surprised that I hadn't blacked out yet. That kind of stuff was common for gunshot wounds. Or so I read.

"Brother," Wes addressed Soul. "What are you doing there?"

Soul looked like he was pissed but he remained calm.

"I figured you'd know." He dangerously responded.

I wondered where the police were at a time like this. We were just chilling behind the building in the dark and pouring rain. So _what_ if we were back here. How had someone not found us yet? I was trying to think of the logistics of getting the police here. If I ran, Kyou could possibly tackle me which would probably hurt considering the pain in my leg. That didn't seem like a very good idea anymore.

Oh fuck it. Why were we in this situation anyway?

"I'm afraid I can't let you kill him," Wes informed Soul.

My boyfriend and I both narrowed our eyes. What exactly was going on with Wes? Honestly? What was his deal? I wanted an explanation right now. He seemed to be connected to the gang somehow. He had known about my story, obviously, considering all of the Legendary Maka references which probably pissed Kyou off infinitely. But how? How did Wes know who I was?

"Oh yeah?" I broke into their conversation. "Are you two friends or something?"

Wes turned towards me, looking down.

"Oh Maka? You _are _quite amazing as expected," He complimented me. "You've been shot and you're _still _conscious."

I looked at him, unimpressed.

"Thanks, Sherlock," I responded. "Wanna answer my question?"

Wes cackled. It wasn't evil though as expected. It was a normal laugh. Almost like Soul's except Soul's was better for some reason. Actually, Soul's was probably more sadistic but I happened to like it better.

"Well, _Maka_," Wes continued. "If that kid dies," he pointed to a pissed Kyou. "I don't get my money."

Soul's head shot towards his brother and his eyes glared.

"Pay?" He questioned. "What the hell are you talking about, Wes?"

Ox looked confused as well. He didn't seem to know what was going on and he slunk back into the corner. Actually, he was there all along. It looked like his brief moments of bravery had disappeared with his importance. However, I still needed to know how he tied into this.

"We have some very confused people don't we?" Wes inquired, glancing around at Soul and I, then to Ox. Kyou seemed to know what was going on yet he looked at Wes as if he wanted an explanation of something also.

"Alright, honestly," I cut in. "What the fuck is going on?" I stood straighter, still bent so I could clutch my leg.

Wes laughed again.

"I heard you were smart," he said. "C'mon I thought you'd be able to figure this out."

"Well obviously he's paying you for something," I remarked, referring to Kyou.

"Yes," Wes approved of my answer.

"But that's obviously not all." I looked at Soul who was also staring at me, aghast at my ability to interrogate his intimidating brother.

My detective skills seemed to be lacking at the moment. That tends to happen when you get shot in the leg. Searing pain can sometimes just blind you from thinking clearly. Sometimes. But I wanted to figure this out. I needed to know.

But then there was Nao and Aoi. How did they fit in?

"Just tell me about Ox then," I proposed. The most fucking random person here.

"Oh fuck Maka!" Kyou spat. "This is the one you _should _know!"

I was still confused as ever. This was the one I had no clue about. _Why _the hell would Ox be here?

"The Christmas party." Wes said. "Don't you remember?"

I shook my head, looking at Soul who shrugged.

"What did you two _do _at the Christmas party?" Kyou snarled, still probably oblivious to the fact that it was his head that the gun was being held to and Soul could pull the trigger any minute now if he felt like it.

But then it hit me and Soul seemed to understand. I told him about what happened last year. I told him the story. Fuck. Someone must've saw. And that someone must've been Ox Ford.

_"Maka," Kyou started. "I need you to forget everything that has happened here. You're telling no one about this."_

I clearly remembered Kyou telling me that when he kidnapped me. I couldn't say what he did to the police or anyone for fear of harassment and I _just _did it this year and he ended up finding out. But how?

"When I came to pick up Soul from the party," Wes continued. "I noticed your little friend Ox standing outside with Maka's confession_ all _on video which he was about to go public with."

I furrowed my eyebrows, using all my energy _not_ to glare at Ox.

"So you told _him_." I pointed at Kyou.

"Of course," Wes answered. "I'm paid to be his ... handy man? I set up _everything. _I make sure everything is timed right. _You _weren't supposed to be here. I sent Soul off and you were supposed to stay isolated so Kyou could get to you."

That little-

"Also, your kidnapping was planned by me." Wes went on. "I set up that dance specifically for Kyou. I heard Nao plotting and just made the perfect place to silence him."

Kyou didn't seem to happy with this. Then again, neither was I. Soul seemed to be infuriated and I now thought that he probably shouldn't have had the gun because he would _miss _and shoot his brother instead. Not that I minded.

"_And _because Ox knew you were possibly in danger, I also found him a reason to be at the music convention." Wes said. "_Which_," he repeated. "You were _not _supposed to be at. I had to _follow_ you everywhere to ensure your location."

"Hold up!" I announced. "What about Nao and Aoi?"

"Oh I was paid by them too," Wes admitted.

Kyou snapped his head around to face Wes.

"What?" He growled.

"Well they already paid me," Soul's brother said. "Basically I was getting paid by both of you."

"You don't need anymore goddamn money!" Soul barked.

"Who do you think pays for the house?" Wes answered Soul, who looked at him in confusion. "I do. Not mom and dad. Haven't you ever wondered why we're so rich? Trust me, local musicians never make this much money no matter how many world tours we have.

I couldn't believe it. Wes was getting paid by Nao & Aoi and Kyou. A double agent. He didn't care which group got me first. As long as he got his money. What an asshole.

But now we were in this situation. Soul with a gun pointed at Kyou. His brother watching. Me shot. Ox slunk into the corner. All in the pouring rain. I was starting to get cold to and my foot was going numb. That couldn't have been good. I needed a hospital.

Suddenly Kyou grabbed the gun from Soul, who gasped in surprise.

"Maka! Watch out!" But the gun was pointed at him instead of me and then he suddenly smirked, as if remembering an inside joke. He let the gun be pointed at him without even looking at it in fear.

"Afraid to die?" Kyou hissed.

"Not if it's for my girl," Soul replied, still looking at ease.

Tears streamed down my face at the thought of him dying. Please. No.

_Click._

"Soul!" I shrieked, but then looked up. It was just a click.

"Again?" Kyou screamed, chucking the gun at the ground, pissed at the empty gun.

Soul looked up at him, smirking. He pulled something out of his pocket and opened his fist. In his hand were the bullets to the gun.

I don't think I ever loved my boyfriend so much.

"I'm not a murderer," He informed Kyou.

I should've predicted that my ex-boyfriend would tackle my current boyfriend.

"Ox go get help!" I shouted. He had the best chance of getting to the police. He was the least hurt.

And then Wes ran after him. Shit. I should've predicted that too.

I sprinted after Soul's brother and grabbed his jacket, pulling him back. I didn't expect him to gently push me aside, but I still grabbed onto his jacket so it did him no justice and he ended up being pulled with. I slammed him into a the wall, feeling an explosion of pain erupt in my leg but it was enough of a dilemma for Ox to disappear around the corner out of sight.

Soul

Kyou's fist connected with my jaw causing blood to drip out of my mouth, staining my teeth and lips. I blocked his next attack and swung him around so he was under my fists now. However, the position changed once more, Kyou dominating. If this wasn't a dangerous situation I'd be laughing at how awkward this would look. But I was more focused on staying alive.

I kicked him off of me and he doubled over in pain. Too bad it didn't last long because the next second he was after me. Jesus. I didn't even know him and he was so desperate to kill me. I made sure that the bullets were still in my pocket but it cost me a punch to the face again.

Okay. This was seriously starting to hurt.

I didn't want to see what happened to my once chill face. It was probably stained in blood. Then again, the rain as probably washing it away by now. Maybe I didn't look half as bad as I thought. I blocked another punch. They were coming faster now.

Then I heard a cry and my blood boiled. Wes hurt Maka. I was going to kill that son of a bitch. Brother or not. No one was allowed to hurt her. Even if she wasn't my girlfriend. She was still a girl. What an uncool thing to do.

I tried to move towards her but Kyou grabbed my shoulder, turned me around and tried to punch me. I ducked, dodging it narrowly and grabbed his arm, pulling him down and flipping his body over my back, sending him into the ground. Again, if this situation wasn't life or death, I'd be smirking at how cool that was. But I had to keep my wits about. I didn't know if another gun could appear out of nowhere or any other weapon.

Maka cried again and I looked over to find her clutching her calf. I had to get to her. She needed to be at a hospital now. We could deal with Kyou later. I just hoped that Wes wouldn't seriously injure her before then and that the police arrived soon.

I watched her put her hand in her half ripped purse. What was she doing? She kept her hand in there and said something out loud to Wes who also looked confused but then pulled her hand out.

What the hell was she doing?

He roughly grabbed her by her arm and whispered something in her shoulder. I suddenly couldn't focus on them because Kyou was at me again. I wondered why he was attacking me when it was Maka that he really wanted. It was probably because we both knew now about the kidnapping incident. He had to eliminate both of us. However, if the police were on the way, he had to be more careful. Killing us was a worse offense than kidnapping and if he got caught doing that, he'd be sentenced for life.

This logic wasn't making freaking sense.

Besides, without a weapon, it would be harder for Kyou to kill us. He would have to somehow hit us hard and have us bleed to death in order to truly eliminate Maka and me. Honestly though, did he not have feelings? Was he a machine?

Well, I guess I used to be like a machine. Maka kind of changed that. Now I was just a fucking softie.

Kyou kicked me and wrapped his arm around my neck. Oh yeah. I forgot about choking. That's another way to kill. But I was too good for that.

I elbowed him and broke free. This was where I took the chance to sprint over to Maka and guard her from my brother. I wrapped my arm around her waist and pulled her close, glaring at Wes, who seemed to be interrogating her rather than physically hurting her.

"Aren't you going to worry about the police?" I asked him. "Ox could be there any minute now."

Wes shrugged. Then he sighed.

"Your older brother is better than that," he replied. "I have better evasive skills." I think he was referring to Kyou.

The auburn haired boy stalked towards us, smirking. He held the gun. Fear crept into me like spiders. Shit. I checked my pocket and felt four bullets. Where was the fifth one?

Kyou held it up just in time with my thoughts. He loaded the gun. I regretted not thinking fast enough. I could've had time to get it out of his hands. But now he had a loaded gun. One bullet. I was still in front of Maka. I tried to think if I would do this for anyone else but I was too distracted and scared to think straight.

"Shame," Kyou said. "It seems you may have a hole in your pocket."

I didn't have any holes in my pocket. It just fell out. I wanted to know when he grabbed it though. Was it when I ran to Maka or when he was doubling over in pain? _Shut up, Soul! Focus! _I had to remember that this situation was real. I could die. Right now. I really did _not _want to die. But I'd rather die than live with Maka dead.

_Maka is shot! She already dealt with this pain! _I wasn't about to let her get shot again.

"Say goodbye." Kyou whispered.

I squeezed my eyes shut. It's for Maka. _Maka. Maka. For Maka. _I thought.

I heard the gun cock. This time it was for real. No one to save me. There were no police. No one else knew. No on-

"SOUL BUDDY!" A loud voice boomed and Kyou was tackled to the ground by a short, blue haired boy.

I watched in awe as Black Star threw punches at Kyou left and right. I reminded myself never to get into a fight with him. I was too focused on the fight to realize how relieved I was. Dying wasn't a part of the plan. And then I realized how freaking lucky we were. Maka and I. Well, Maka still got shot but most of the time a gun came to our face, we managed to _not _die. It seemed a god was on our side.

Tsubaki was by Maka's side, feeling her wound, gasping while Kid and Liz appeared, pulling Wes aside, who just looked away as if holding back. I wondered why.

Finally. I don't know how they came but they did. I walked over to Tsubaki, watching Black Star, out of the corner of my eye, beat Kyou to a bloody pulp.

"How'd you guys know?" I asked Tsubaki.

She pointed to Maka, who was looking extremely pale and tired. The rain was finally coming down lighter at least.

"Well we heard from your dad that you guys were in Tokyo and then I called her on the phone and she picked up. She seemed to be talking to someone else but she gave her exact location." Tsubaki explained. And I closed my eyes thinking.

That must've been when Maka reached her hand into the pocket and answered the phone, which was probably on vibrate. Then she probably started to talked to Wes in a way that would give the location like "I don't know why you'd pick this music convention," or something like that.

Jesus. Maka could be sneaky. She might've not even known that it was Tsubaki on the other end.

Wailing sirens interrupted my thinking. Shit. We had to make it looked like we weren't the bad guys here. Then I turned around, hearing other noises. Running. It looked like Nao and Aoi. They didn't look very happy. But there were more with them. Itwas the rest of Kyou's gang. About twenty or so guy running straight towards us from the opposite direction. They didn't have guns. But they did have metal poles.

These situations seem to follow us everywhere.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note: <strong>Ohhh! Look at that explanation! Are things a little more clear now? There will be some more explaining. Don't worry. By the next chapter they should be out of danger. Lolz. Intense. Yes. I added some business. I don't know if anyone expected this because I got a lack of theories lol. I kinda wanted to surprise everyone. There's a little more to this though. Like where is Soul's mom? :D Guess you'll have to find out.


	34. Chapter 34

_One book in one year, written about your partner. Game on. Oh wait, they're writing about you too. [SoMa, TsuStar, KidLiz]  
><em>

_Rated M for Mature content_

_Genre: Romance, Suspense_

.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o._  
><em>

_Fiction_

_Sunshinegirl09  
><em>

Maka

"Fuck!" Soul swore, grabbing me and trying to break into a run. That wasn't happening with my leg. It was having a little crisis.

"Soul," I groaned. "I can't move."

He grunted and thrust me on his back and began to sprint.

"We've kinda got a problem here!" he cried as they ran towards us.

I kind of figured it was only a matter of time before Kyou's little crew showed up. I didn't figure, however, that it would be now. Such timing. The police were also after us. Nao and Aoi were with them too but I got the feeling it wasn't by choice.

"Black Star why did I let you get me into this!" Tsubaki cried, following us also.

The four of us (me on Soul's back) turned a corner together.

"Where did Wes go?" Black Star wondered, cracking his knuckles as he ran.

"More importantly," Soul cut in. "Where is Kyou?"

I still had the vivid image of Kyou's bloody face that had been Black Star's doing. I just hoped that the police wouldn't get the wrong idea and think that Black Star was the perpetrator. He did go a little far. I wasn't about to say anything though. Kyou deserved it.

"Hey maybe the police aren't after us!" Tsubaki changed the subject, probably to make us stop running. "Ox got to them right?"

"Well let's hope they catch those guys in the gang before they catch us!" Soul panted.

He was right. I still heard the pummeling sounds of the feet. They honestly didn't think they could just do this, could they? I mean it was dark but we were getting to a busier area now. It would be so easy to be caught. Then again, they sold their soul to the gang. It's not like they cared.

"Excuse me, guys!" I hollered. "I am fucking _shot_! I am not okay!"

Soul looked up at me while he jogged.

"Yeah, I'm taking a detour to the hospital to throw them off." He answered.

The sounds of feet were still audible but they were becoming more faint. The small sound of a light drizzle was mixed in.

We arrived at the park I had been at before. A small pond was before us. I didn't know if we should've gone the long way around or not. We ran towards it in confusion contemplating what to do. It could be easier to go around, letting the risk of the gang cutting us off be less than if we went the shorter way.

However, our immense contemplation was a mistake.

Heavy breathing triggered my senses. Someone caught up without us realizing. He pushed Black Star, Soul and I into the pond. An explosion of pain shot up my leg as I clung to Soul, trying to think about poor Tsubaki being harassed out of the pond but I was blinded by my tortured leg.

Black Star and Soul grabbed the edge when a metal pole suddenly slammed against their fingers causing them to screech in pain and fall back into the water.

"Soul!" I cried, stroking his hair. "Are you okay?"

"Y-Yeah," he coughed, already resurfaced, clutching his hands.

Black Star looked fine. He was pissed though as he watched the other boys come along and toy with Tsubaki.

"Let h-her go!" I boldly cried, chattering in the dark water.

My leg felt like it was dying. I was trying to think of ways to get out of the water before my calf fell off.

_Wait a second. The dark water..._

I thought about swimming across the lake at first because we might have a better chance at getting to the other side because we could cut across but I didn't want to risk getting outrun. But I thought about the darkness.

The lake was incredibly dark itself. However, it was still nighttime and pitch black around us because we were away from streetlamps. And then there was the fact that it was drizzling. No one would be able to see us underwater so if we could swim underwater to a safe distance and get out they wouldn't have time to react.

But then what about Tsubaki. I looked up at her while she struggled against one of the teens up there while Black Star swore up a storm. Every time he tried to heave himself out of the lake he would get brutally smacked with a pole or just shoved back in. The average person may think that it'd be easy to get out but it was like an impossible situation almost.

And then Tsubaki was pushed in the freezing water also.

If we weren't in this life or death situation I would've thought about how ruined my dress was by now. I only thought of that back I realized Soul just ditched his blazer jacket and shoes.

I kissed my heels goodbye.

In his ear I whispered my plan, looking up to see the gang of teens huddled together, one with a phone calling Kyou.

"Yeah, we've got them trapped." He nodded a few times. "Yeah they're not going anywhere."

Soul whispered to Tsubaki and Black Star and they nodded.

I looked at the dark water surrounding my leg, knowing it was stained in blood but shut my eyes when I thought about it.

Soul took my hand and the four of us looked at each other just as some sirens started to be heard in the distance. Finally they caught up. We weren't about to stop though. I _needed _this goddamn bullet out of my leg.

We took a huge breath and sunk or heads underwater. I guided my hand along the muddy side of the pond, while Soul did most of the swimming work. There was faint shouting that could barely be heard from underwater. I guessed they realized we were missing. It would be too late for them though.

Our breath was staring to run out after thirty seconds so I clutched Soul harder and finally felt we were far enough to be able to get out of their reach. But has I started to resurface, someone walked by. Someone from the gang.

Without even getting a breath, I pulled everyone back under. The person continued to monitor the pool without having seen us, but they walked so slowly. It felt like my lungs were ready to burst under the water but we had to wait at least ten more seconds before resurfacing otherwise escape would be futile.

Finally, our heads popped out of the water and we immediately heaved ourselves out.

"There they are!" Everyone ran towards us and I felt panic, unable to run quickly but suddenly, out of the blue, the police arrived with guns. In their presence already was Kyou with handcuffs.

"Yes!" Soul have me a hi-five of relief and we almost kissed.

"WATCH OUT, MAKA!"

Before I could turn around, I felt the thump of a body against mine and the clang of a metal object with a soft one. The weight of the body fell on top of mine, nearly crushing my own. Something oozed down my neck. Blood. Lots of it.

"Soul!" I screeched, pushing him off of me. But it wasn't Soul. Soul was standing up, looking down, shocked.

It was Aoi.

Blood drained from his head and the metal object used to hit him was stained red also.

My heart went weak as I watch him lay limp. I crawled over, ignoring the burning pain in my leg and shook him.

"HEY!" I cried as the boy who hit him was suddenly tackled by a Tokyo policeman. "Aoi, wake up!" I demanded, shaking his lifeless body.

Soul's hand was on my shoulder as we crowded around Aoi.

Tears were falling as I tried to wake him. He just took a hit for me. A huge hit. Why would he do that? Why?

"A-Aoi!"

"Maka you need to get to the hospital!" Soul reminded me.

"But what about him?" I sobbed, afraid to touch Aoi's bloody head. "HELP! SOMEONE!"

I was ripped away from his body from the police. I screeched loudly.

Soul

The policeman grabbed Maka, who kept crying. I wondered why on earth would Aoi take that hit for her?

"Is she the one who's shot?" I heard a medic come up to her.

"Yes!" I called, jogging over to Maka.

They were putting her on a stretcher.

"How are you related to her?" The medic asked me.

"Boyfriend," I answered.

They didn't say anything as I climbed into the ambulance with them, holding onto Maka's hand as she laid down, clutching her leg.

The medic lady nodded at me and ripped open part of Maka's dress, exposing her bloody leg. I had to cover my mouth to remind myself not to puke. The hole in her leg had a black ring around it. The sides were also stained with blood.

"I need morphine!" The doctor called.

"Can you do this in a moving vehicle?" I questioned, panicking.

"She's lost too much blood and she's in a lot of pain." The lady explained. "I need the morphine to numb her for now."

"I know what morphine is," I mumbled, rolling my eyes.

All I wanted was to make sure they didn't stab anything they weren't supposed to because of the lurch of a car.

Maka moaned and moaned. She clutched my hand harder and whispered, "Aoi...please let him be okay."

I pushed the wet hair out of her face, realizing we were dripping all over the ambulance.

"Shh..." I hushed her.

The doctor pushed my hand away from her forehead though I still gripped her other hand in mine. Then she gave Maka a shot of morphine.

"Argh..." Maka squirmed and I held onto her tighter.

I felt so bad. But all I could do was hold her hand.

"It's going to be okay," I assured her. "Don't worry."

In a few minutes we arrived at the hospital where they pulled Maka out by a stretcher and I followed them out as they rushed her to the emergency room. Behind us, squad cars were arriving with Black Star and Tsubaki and Nao.

The doctors refused to let me in the room. All I could hear was Maka screeching as they pulled the bullet out. Goddammit. What the fuck was the morphine for anyway?

"So much for numbing," I growled, looking around for a towel to dry my dripping hair.

Black Star and Tsubaki joined me. We didn't have time to talk before a group of people approached us and guided us into a separate room.

"We just need to have a check up," A man explained, pulling out a light. "Sit." He instructed, blinding me with the light and telling me to follow it.

"I'm fine," I grumbled as he put it away and repeated it to my friends. "What about Maka?"

"You're friend with the gunshot wound?" The doctor asked. "She definitely won't die."

I slammed my head on the bed we were all sitting on.

"That's not what I meant!" I bellowed.

"Calm down, sir." He told me.

I stood up angrily, ignoring Black Star's and Tsubaki's stares.

"I'm only 16, you don't have to call me, 'sir'!" I yelled, pissed. "I want to see my girlfriend!"

These damn people. How hard was this? We were obviously fine.

However, he continued to put gauze on my swollen lip.

"Where's Nao?" Tsubaki timidly asked.

Black Star moved his arm from her waist and pointed to the room across from us. Tsubaki craned her neck to see.

"Oh," She quietly said.

I tried to breathe evenly. When the doctors released us to walk around the lobby, I found the nearest vending machine and started to furiously eat a bag of chips while my other two friends sat next to me waiting.

It was an hour and a half before I was allowed to see Maka.

"Her leg is fine," The doctor announced. "It will heal in time, but she is sleeping now."

oOoOo

Maka

Warmth. My once wet body was engulfed in warmth. I blinked my tired eyes and was surrounded by white walls lit by a dim light. There was an arm draped around me and I drowsily turned around to see who it belonged to.

Soul's red eyes stared at me.

Before I could say something, his hand was against my my mouth and his other had a finger pressed to his lips. He laid in bed with me.

"Shhh..." He whispered. "They keep trying to kick me out."

We stayed there for a while and I thought I was the most comfortable I'd ever been. But it wasn't long before memories flooded my mind. Aoi. His head. Wes. The betrayal. Kyou. Gang. Nao. Black Star and Tsubaki. My papa probably already called every police force in the country.

"A-Aoi..." I stammered, looking at Soul.

"He's alive." Soul remarked sadly. "But not stable. He hasn't woken up. He's basically in a coma."

I sighed in relief. While a coma was a terrible thing, I was just thankful he didn't die. That wound looked so horrible. At least there was a chance.

"Black Star and Tsubaki are asleep in the lobby. Nao is also with them." Soul explained.

"What about Wes and the gang?" I wondered.

"Kyou and his little gang are all down at the station but there's absolutely no evidence of anything that went against Wes," Soul gritted his teeth. "So they're letting him go."

I wondered why Soul was happy. Wes was his brother...but then again. Soul hated him.

"And Kid and Liz?" I asked. "They just disappeared."

"They're at the station giving the whole story." Soul continued. "Ox is also with them."

So that was where they went when we were being chased.

Relief was already seeping into my chest. We were out of danger. We were safe. And I had my boyfriend. Thank god.

My leg wasn't dying anymore. The morphine had decided to kick in.

"Your father came by, by the way," Soul informed me, causing my face to scrunch. "It was quite an interesting scene."

I rolled my eyes.

"I bet it was. Where is he now?" I questioned.

"I think he went out to buy you stuff." Soul said. "But I'm not exactly sure. It was hard to understand him through all his crying and dramatic-ness.

I settled into Soul's body deeper, feeling more comforted by his presence. My head laid against his chest, under the crook of his neck.

How did I end up with such a great boyfriend? Some things were just meant to be.

"Ugh..." I moaned. "What time is it?" I was a little tired.

"Oh...3:30 in the morning."

Dammit.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note: <strong>WHOA! Out of danger? Possibly? I did take them out of danger :D Hehe because I am a NICE soul. How was your guys' fourth of july's? Mine was...ehh okay. Hung out with my best friend lol. I wanna


	35. Chapter 35

_One book in one year, written about your partner. Game on. Oh wait, they're writing about you too. [SoMa, TsuStar, KidLiz]  
><em>

_Rated M for Mature content_

_Genre: Romance, Suspense_

.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o._  
><em>

_Fiction_

_Sunshinegirl09  
><em>

Soul

"Maka," I warned. "Would you _stop _crutching around?"

Maka looked up, sweat beading down her forehead as she gripped her crutches.

"But then I'm immobile," She answered.

"I can get things for you," I countered, coming closer and planting my hand firmly on the stubborn girl's shoulder.

"I don't like to be dependent," Maka argued, crinkling her nose.

I rolled my eyes. She was becoming less obedient. This was the third day she was in the hospital. She wasn't even supposed to be out of bed yet. Now she was crutching around the whole hospital. Getting lunch. Socializing. Talking to nurses.

"_Seriously, _Maka," I continued. "You're not going to heal properly. How is it going to feel when blood starts coming through the bandage from overworking yourself, huh?" My challenge didn't phase her.

"Eh, it won't," Maka replied.

I strongly doubted that.

We were now back in her room and it was littered with gifts already. Chocolates and cards and little gifts you found at Hallmark stores. There were even a few CD's and movies. I wondered where all these friends came from because I seriously doubted Maka knew these people.

"Maka," I pried, once I pushed her into the bed. "Where are all these gifts from?"

Maka sighed, looking up in wonder, shaking her head. Then she glanced back down to me.

"'They were mailed from my classmates. From 9th grade."

I almost thought shivers ran down my spine. They sent her...fucking gifts? But why? I thought that was the worst year of her life.

"Why?" I wondered.

Maka shrugged.

"Read one of the cards," She remarked, looking at one in particular.

I picked it up and opened the cover, ignoring the decorations.

_Dear Maka,_

_I really hope you get better! I can't_ _**believe **you took out Kyou's crew! I'm so sorry I misjudged you last year! I'm sad now that we don't go to the same high school. If we had, you would've known how bad Kyou was. He basically ran the whole school. It was hell! Thanks to you he's been taken to a detainment center for troubled teens and his band of crazy violent friends! I'm **really **sorry that I avoided you last year! It was all because of Kyou! Please forgive me and I hope you get better soon. Then maybe we can meet up sometime in the future!_

_From,  
>Yenny<em>

I put down the card and just stared at Maka. Then I took another one and another. They were all praising Maka for taking care of Kyou. It made me wonder if she was beginning to miss her old life at that school. I knew it was awful but it seemed like the beginning of the year wasn't. Maybe she used to be friends with all of these people before Kyou ruined everything.

"Maka Albarn," I addressed her. "You are _amazing._"

She blinked at me in wonder, unknowingly. That girl could be oblivious sometimes.

"Not really," She answered but I just shook my head and then I thought of something.

"Hey," I said. "I checked my phone that I left at the hotel finally in between visiting hours."

"Mmhmm," My girlfriend mumbled, then suddenly her eyes widened.

I gave her a questioning smirk, then cleared my throat.

"Soul Evans!" I imitated in a high pitched voice. "I don't know what the fuck is wrong with you but I want an explanation, okay? Where are you? You're gone and I need to talk to you. Something's obviously fucked up here an-"

"Alright, alright," Maka cut in. "I was a little mad, maybe. You deserved it."

I drummed my fingers against the bed, on her knee.

"But what made you come for me?" I inquired. "Honestly, I thought I did a pretty good job shoving you away."

"Mmmm..." Maka looked up again as if the ceiling was _that _damn interesting. "I read your story."

I tried to keep my face from turning bright red, remembering my last entry. Where I was so frustrated because of what Wes made me do. But there were just certain things. There were certain things you'd do. Do for love.

"What would you do for love...?" I mumbled, shaking my head. "I thought you were gonna hate me so much that you'd never even consider coming for me. I wouldn't have thought that you wouldn't give up."

Maka smiled, that gorgeous smile, and laugh.

"_That _is what I'd do for love," She told me. "I knew something was just off. And I went to investigate. I read your story and knew something else must've been going on. That was way too sudden to be true."

I sighed, glancing up at the oh-so-interesting ceiling.

"Well, I'm glad that you came for me," I said. "If you hadn't we both could've been screwed."

"Both?" Maka wondered. "Only me, baka." She giggled.

I clicked my tongue.

"If you were killed, I'd probably commit suicide," I admitted, knowing it was the truth. I was a cutter. That didn't mean, of course, that I was willing to kill myself. But it meant that I was already depressed. It meant that I already hated myself. And Maka was the only thing that kept me wanting to live. I had nothing else. I had _no _one else.

Maka put her hand over her mouth.

"Soul, don't say that!" She protested, shooting upwards in her bed but wincing in pain.

I placed my hands gently on her shoulders and pushed her back down into her bed.

"But I wouldn't have anything to live for," I told her seriously, looking in her eyes, wondering when I became such a weak person.

There was a dead silence for a few seconds.

And then Maka punched my shoulder.

"_Ba_ka!" She scolded. "Don't do such crazy things! If we both ended up dead and you died because you killed yourself, I'd avoid you in heaven!"

I rolled my eyes.

"Oh yeah? How do you know I'm going to heaven?" I demanded, smirking.

"Please," Maka groaned. "I know Soul Eater Evans better than anyone." She smirked. "And deep down, he is a softie." She pushed my chest with her fingers, the smirk only growing on her face.

"Ugh," I turned away, hiding a smile. "Why do I like you?"

"Excuse me, lovebirds!" It was Liz.

She and Kid entered. And they were holding hands.

"Wait a second," Maka interjected. "Are you two-"

"Going out?" Liz cut in. "Yes. Don't ask about that story."

"What about the story?" I wondered as she set a bouquet of flowers on the nightstand, admiring all the gifts around her.

"I said don't ask!" Liz snapped, looking at a smiling Kid, who was finding the whole situation obviously amusing.

Maka and I didn't get it.

"Basically, a police officer forced us to go out," Liz mumbled. "He stalked us everywhere, insisting we were a cute couple. We were _trying _to give effective descriptions of Kyou's gang while they were trying to get us together. Ugh. Some workers."

Maka couldn't stop laughing. Well, it was amusing.

"Where's Patty?" Maka asked.

"She's been hanging out with with Lord Death," Liz remarked.

"The principal?" Maka and I squawked.

"Well it is his dad," Liz pointed at Kid, who was nodding. "And we do live at his house."

"What about your parents, Soul?" Kid asked, speaking finally.

I sighed. It was a bit complicated.

"They're talking to Wes. I've spoken to them once on the phone. They asked me to come home immediately but I told them I was staying with Maka." I remarked. "They said that was fine. I think they're just shocked that something like this could happen to us."

I noticed Maka looking at me with watery eyes. I didn't know why. She shouldn't pity me. She was the one that was supposed to be pitied. She was freaking shot.

"Black Star and Tsubaki should be coming back sometime soon," Liz came in thankfully. "They said they went to go buy food but I think it must've been a date or something."

"Oh those two..." Maka rolled her eyes.

"WE HAVE ARRIVED! DON'T TALK BEHIND OUR BACKS!" Black Star burst through the door. "Maka? Not out of bed yet? One look at my godly figure should cure you for sure!"

Tsubaki timidly walked behind him, pulling his shoulder back.

"Hey, Black Star," we all greeted with a moan.

Tsubaki

I painfully restrained my boyfriend from demolishing the entire room. His excited greeting probably wasn't the best for Maka in her condition. Then again, I had heard from a worried Soul that she was trying to crutch around the hospital like mad.

Now that was determination.

"Where's my Papa?" She asked me.

"I heard he was buying you a new cell phone," I answered. "Considering that water from the pond did _wonders _to it."

Maka grimaced, remembering that her wallet had also been soaked and her car keys, which her father recovered with a frown. Not because they were wet but because he had to go out looking for the vehicle. Maka was still unconscious.

And at that moment on time, Maka's father walked in the room, wailing.

"Makaaaa!" He cried. "Papa got you the best smart phone they had!"

He shoved it in his daughter's face.

"I see it," Maka grumbled, but took it nonetheless.

"See he loves you," Soul teased.

"Shut up punk," Maka's dad snapped. "I still don't approve of youuu!"

Soul only smirked at the over protective, refraining from a smart remark. They never did exactly get along well.

Then again, I had only seen Black Star's family once and they basically tried to kill me. Now I understood why he never took me to his house. It was back in December when we were walking and they saw us, all bearing a star tattoo star just like Black Star's. I promised Black Star not to tell anyone about this. I didn't really care. As long as I was with him, nothing could hurt me.

Suddenly there was a knock on the door. A guilty Ox walked in. He and Maka stared at each other for about a minute and then he apologized. That was when I realized it was getting rather _crowded_ in here.

Maka, Soul, Maka's Dad, Liz, Kid, Black Star, Ox and I.

"Well we did bring snacks," I said, holding up the grocery bag I was carrying. I tossed some fruity drinks around to everyone. Then some chips and yogurt. It was a good thing I got a little extra we had _just _enough for the eight of us. Any more and-

_Knock knock!_

Another person walked in the room.

"Marie-sensei! Stein!" We all cried. The two teachers walked in, arm and arm, each holding gifts.

"We heard that our poor student was shot," Stein said with that creepy smirk. "Had to make sure the hospital wasn't going to do any weird experiments on you...before me."

Marie elbowed him and handed us more things.

Maka

I couldn't believe my teachers just walked into the room. What the hell was going on? Not like I cared that much. Their entire presence brought a totally comedic atmosphere that destroyed Ox's depressing apology. Really he didn't need to apologize. He helped.

"Now, I'm sure you guys can be inspire to write great stories from this, right?" Marie suggested

Soul and I burst out laughing as if we shared some unknown and inside secret. Some joke. Which we were. We saved each other because of our stories.

"What?" Marie blinked.

"Never mind," Soul chuckled, leaving everyone confused.

Now it was getting kind of crowded in the tiny hospital room. Eleven people.

I opened the bag of chips on my bed and began to eat, wondering if I had missed out. This food...junk food. I never thought I'd want it so badly. It'd been almost six days without it and I thought I was dying. I then took a swig of some kiwi flavored drink. Yep. Amazing too.

I missed living normally. Well, minus the fact that I was in the hospital. I didn't feel so lonely anymore.

Suddenly, there was the sound of thudding feet. I thought it was like a stampede of footsteps. Everyone else seemed to notice too. Then there was shouting. For a moment, I thought Kyou's gang was back but they were put away. So what exactly was going on?

"Stop! You can't go in there!"

Panic struck my heart. One of the nurses was shouting that but it seemed that she was run over.

Everyone in the room stood in front of my bed, sensing that the footsteps were coming for us. _What _was it?

"MAKA ALBARN!" Yes. It was for me.

Soul moved in front of me and gripped my hand.

And then the door burst open. And our whole class came crashing in.

"You got _shot_!" Ami bellowed.

Twenty worried looking kids stood before us. In a Tokyo hospital. Two hours away from Death City. What. The. Fuck.

"U-Uh...yeah," I answered, feeling that there was no room to breathe, considering there were almost 3o people in the room.

"Does it hurt?" Another kid asked.

"Well, yeah. I mean it _is _a gunshot wound." That's when I realized that I was at loss for words because I was so touched. I thought this kind of stuff only happened in dramas. Your entire class coming to see you in the hospital, even people that hated you, like Ami. Then again, it was people in dramas that got shot. But how could they all get here? Why would they care so much?

"You guys," Soul was reading my mind. "How did you all get here?"

"We took a train!" Someone announced.

Why didn't I think of that? Oh yeah. I kind of needed my car.

"Why did you come?" I wondered.

"Because we were worried!" Kilik answered, stepping forward. "How could you do this? Going and getting shot! Geez!"

I laughed lightly, blushing at all of the attention. Here was my class standing in a super stuffed room, fighting past nurses, coming miles, just to see me. I had some pretty crazy, fucked up friends.

Hiro was even here. I couldn't believe this.

"Ah man," Soul cackled. "All you guys coming here for this violent girl."

I refrained from slapping him. I remembered all of his bruises.

"Excuse me! This is unacceptable!" A nurse cried, shoving her way into the thick crowd of kids who all glared at her. "This is not good for her!"

Everyone just laughed, ignoring her.

"I mean it!" She angrily replied. "I can call security or the cops and they'll force you out!"

I saw Tsubaki stop Black Star from nearly punching her.

"Alright, alright," Stein said. "Could we at least take a group picture."

The nurse's eyebrow twitched.

"Do you promise to leave?" She addressed everyone.

Everyone nodded, sighing. They came all that way too. Maybe they would stay and individually visit later.

Marie handed the nurse her camera and everyone came and clumped around my bed, packing tightly. I suddenly felt like crying. I never knew I had so many people by my side. All the cards and gifts from my old classmates, my new ones coming to actually see me...such people who cared.

The nurse held up the camera.

_Don't cry, Maka! _I thought to myself. I smiled bigger. This was going to be the picture of a lifetime.

_Click._

And it was.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note: <strong>Soooo basically I ended up in the hospital. THIS IS WHAT I GET FOR SHOOTING MAKA! I sprained my ankle...really badly. It already had problems from previous sprains. My mom was taking pictures of me jumping into our pool and on one of the jumps my foot got caught in a small hole between our deck and pool. My momentum pushed me forward into the water but my foot stayed. I know. I am a BAKA. And of course my mom got the picture too. She didn't even know I was hurt until I screamed. Ugh. Life. So Maka's crutching around is inspired by MUAH. I FREAKING HATE CRUTCHES AND BEING IMMOBILE. aiofnaoifnaiofn. So ANYWAY review. That was just the reason for a long time without an update.


	36. Chapter 36

_One book in one year, written about your partner. Game on. Oh wait, they're writing about you too. [SoMa, TsuStar, KidLiz]  
><em>

_Rated M for Mature content_

_Genre: Romance, Suspense_

.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o._  
><em>

_Fiction_

_Sunshinegirl09  
><em>

Maka

"Soul," I argued. "Let me go! It's the last week of school and I absolutely must go!"

"You're only going to end up hurting yourself, being the klutz that you are," Soul remarked, rolling his eyes while he held onto my elbow.

"The school is _right _there!" I told Soul. "I can make it."

I adjusted my crutches as I maneuvered towards the double doors, followed by Soul.

"HEY! HOW'S THE CRIPPLE?" Black Star's voice penetrated the air as he jumped off the railing with Tsubaki behind him.

"Peachy," I replied, refrained from knocking him out with my crutch.

"Arms hurt yet?" Tsubaki wondered.

I shrugged.

"I finally learned how to use them properly," I laughed as a few kids brushed passed me, ruffling my hair and waving.

Basically everyone knew now. I was legendary in the gang. Now I was legendary among my class. I was the girl who got shot. The girl who got shot and lived. There were actually tons of rumors on how I got shot. Every time I tried to explain, a new one would come up. Not that I cared.

I looked upwards, before entering the high school. The sun was shining brightly and there were billowy clouds that filled the sky, scattered. The light peeked through them majestically and lit the sidewalk up with summer brightness.

Watching them, I almost felt like I was flying.

"Come on, slowpoke." Soul got me to my senses.

I entered the school and was engulfed in cheering. My classmates. Even people I hated like Ami. They were all here screaming for me and above them was a banner that read, "Welcome back Maka!" in parentheses was "(and Soul)"

"Gee, thanks," Soul muttered but he was laughing.

I was crying.

"This is why we live." Out of nowhere Liz popped up with Kid and Patty.

"That's right!" Her sister chimed in.

Liz suddenly looked at her.

"Patty!" She scolded. "You're not in high school yet!"

Patty shrugged. I didn't think anything was going to stop her from following.

The short celebration didn't last long. Soon teachers came out of their rooms, realizing the commotion and shuffling kids away.

Soul followed me to my locker where he helped me take out all of my books and other stuff. From my backpack he pulled out my journal where his story was. He was about to open the first page when I nearly glared him to death.

"But you read mine," He argued as I slammed my locker shut and grabbed my crutches.

"Yeah well, you deserved it." I walked with him to the classroom. Well, crutched.

Marie sensei greeted me at the door, offering if I wanted to sit in the desk closest to the door but I kindly declined. I preferred my seat in front of Soul where he could harass my by throwing paper and such. Well not directly behind me. Tsubaki was directly behind me and she was already seated, playing some childish hand game with Black Star and she seemed to be winning. It was amusing watching his godly self fail.

Ox was in the classroom too and he wasn't boasting about his grades or bragging them in front of me. Not today.

We took our seats as the bell rang and I placed my crutches under my desk.

"Alright, class!" Marie announced. "How are your guys books doing?"

They were some loud replies. Yeses and nos and some moans. Some cheers too.

"They _are _do at the end of the day today," Marie said above the other voices. "Grades will be up by the last day of school. That's why I need them today."

I looked at my journal that lay on my desk on front of me. It was packed full of memories and stories, problems that Soul and I faced put into a story. I couldn't really tell if it was fact or fiction at all. What _was _it?

I opened to the last page of the book.

_Soul Evans was the kind of boy who gave up everything for someone he loved. His outer appearance suggested against it, but he cared more for others than he did for himself. Maybe he had a personality problem. Maybe the way he did things was a little twisted. But the reasons. The reasons were remarkable. He was willing to give up everything. Everything. He was the kind of person that you wanted as a friend. He was the kind of person you wanted on your side. _

_If someone climbed to the top of the mountain, they would see how beautiful the other side was. Soul's side was absolutely beautiful. It was not because it was sunny. It was not because there were butterflies or flowers. His side was actually dark. Dark but beautiful. It was like midnight. There was no sun. There were no butterflies. But there was a calm almost stillness in the moving rain.  
><em>

_It was rain that dripped down into your soul and cooled it down. It was a sweet release from normality.  
><em>

_That was the side of Soul that everyone failed to see._

I almost wanted to cry. It was finally done. I wondered if I was the only one who actually finished their story. Everyone was acting mad at Marie because it was due today but I couldn't hate Marie-sensei. If it wasn't for her, Soul and I'd be enemies right now.

That random chance when she picked our names, closing her eyes, on the attendance sheet, was so small. That chance was miniscule. Damn. And it happened.

Then I suddenly remembered that I had to bring Aoi some new flowers this week. The ones we bought him two weeks ago must've been rotten. I had actually just got out of the hospital last week. Stayed there for 15 days. Only because they were the only ones who could redress my gunshot wound which had to be redressed constantly.

A piece of paper hit my head. I leaned over and picked up from the ground, not turning around because I already knew it was from Soul.

_Hey Worm!  
>Stop dazing off and pay attention!<em>  
><em><br>_I rolled my eyes, crumbling it up again and turning to face Soul. I stuck my tongue out before responding. Then I tossed the note back.

_Hey Worm!  
>Stop dazing off and pay attention!<br>**MAKE ME!**_** :P**  
><strong><br>**I capped my sharpie, smirking.

Marie gave everyone final work time to finish their stories. They were all in crunch mode. Except for Soul and I. I was sitting on his lap, my head resting on the desk. It didn't look provocative or anything. Just comfortable. He suddenly pried the journal from my fingertips. I shrugged. Oh well. I _did _read his.

Soul was playing around with my hand as he started to read. Suddenly he clutched it harder, frowning.

"Yah!" He scolded. "Soul Eater was definitely a horrible, horrible boy?" He quoted.

I squeezed back.

"Maka was clearly unwanted," I countered, quoting his journal.

"Okay, so we both hated each other," Soul concluded with a smirk.

"Yeah, Sherlock," I responded, still comfortable in his lap.

Soul continued to read, pinching me every time something pissed him off. In the background I could hear Black Star and Tsubaki exchanging stories also. His outbursts were rather loud and Tsubaki's face was laughable. Kid looked like he was ready to flip a table. Black Star _had _however picked up a chair. You know shit gets real when someone throws a chair.

"You must've loved me from long ago," said Soul, pointing to one of my entries.

_Soul was the type of person not to care about anyone's feelings. People then didn't find the need to care for him._

I crinkled my nose.

"That must've been when you kissed Blair," I informed him almost laughing.

Soul raised an eyebrow.

"Emotions clearly run your writing," He answered.

"Oh?" I raised my eyebrows now. "I'm not alone. 'I love her, I love her-'"

Soul placed his hand over my mouth, frowning.

"Shh..." He mumbled. "Gotta be so loud."

I just shook my head.

"I clearly remember you calling me a bitch on the first day of this project."

Soul burst out laughing.

"I remember that," He replied, shaking his head also. "I guess things have changed."

"I guess," I responded.

"Well," Soul added. "Sometimes-"

"MAKA CHOP!"

Soul resisted the urge to drop me on the ground because of his throbbing head. He also didn't swear. Great. I had tamed the beast. Temporarily.

Liz

"Would you _stop_?" I begged Kid, who was getting carried away by all the mentions of OCD in my story for him.

"Liz this is seven! Seven! How is-" I cut him off with a brief kiss, quick enough so no one noticed but long enough to let him know that our issues were behind us.

"Just shut up," I told him.

Then he smirked. And I was suddenly the one who was under the power of the other. I hated it when he did this. He started out weak and obsessed and then all of a sudden he switched to this manly, possessive, ATTRACTIVE person. With that type of personality. Fuck.

It was like a spell.

And I was under it.

The more he looked at me, the more hot the room felt.

"Kid," I warned. "We are in a _class_room. Patty's down at the office." Because she refused to leave. The reason I had to remind him that we were in a classroom was because if I had to deal with that smoldering stare anymore, a full make out session would break out and well, we were with other people.

"Come one, is everyone getting done?" Marie called. "You guys should be finished by now!" More moans as people tried to desperately finish.

"TSUBAKI!" Black Star bellowed. "How could you not believe my love isn't sufficient? MY GODLY LOVE IS EN-" Tsubaki cut him off by putting her hand on his shoulder. Then she whispered something into his ear that made him smile. Then a pulled her into a side hug. Ugh. Too cute. Unlike me. I had to deal with this sexy, bipolar beast. Speaking of Kid, he was back to analyzing my story.

Surprisingly, Kid's story of me did not ridicule me in the beginning like everyone else's in this classroom. Actually, it pointed out features of me that I wouldn't have noticed, not necessarily implying whether they were good or bad. Actually, it was kind of poetic in a way.

_Engulfed in shadows,  
>She did not give in.<br>Stayed away._  
><em>Never affected by others,<br>The normals.  
><em>

Kid's whole story was actually written like this. It was rather interesting to read. I didn't know he could write with such beauty and detail. It was far beyond me.

Maka

"Guys!" Marie continued. "There are five minutes left of class!"

I just shook my head at the poor people who didn't finish. Actually, most of the people were done or finishing up.

Sighing, I was about to get up when I suddenly bumped my calf, a shot of pain spiked through my leg to my spine. I let out a painful grunt, squeezing my eyes, forgetting about my injury and the implications that came along with it.

Soul's hand was immediately around my waist, tightened.

"Hey," His face was suddenly soft. "You okay?"

I smiled, the pain washing over now.

"Mm," I answered. "All good."

"Oy," he said. "Don't lie. You shouldn't even be here. If anything hurts-"

"I get it, doc," I remarked, smirking.

Soul started to play with me hair, as if trying to shake off the bad feeling. He was remembering what happened in Tokyo. I lived much better off not thinking about it at all. That was how I was getting by. And it was working just fine.

"It's time!" Marie announced loudly. "Come on!"

I tucked the journal under my arm and began to crutch up to the front of the room, in a line while Soul nervously walked behind me, ready to catch me if I fell.

People started to turn them in, all putting them in a stack in Marie's arms. I finally came up to her and held out the journal. And then in her arms I placed the story of Soul Evans.

"Thank you, Maka," Marie said, smiling. I just smiled back.

"It was my pleasure," I finally responded when Soul turned his in also.

"Come on, cripple," He finally said.

oOoOo

Maka

My head was comfortably rested on Soul's shoulder on the bus home, eyes closed but awake.

"This isn't necessary," I informed him, but he didn't say anything. It would only result in an argument.

We both had our own opinion when it came to him taking me home every day because of my leg. I felt like I was being an inconvenience but he insisted that he'd be taking me home even if my leg was healed. Because it'd be time with me.

Ugh. What a boyfriend.

At my house, he dropped me off. Well, apartment.

"I do _not _need help up the steps," I insisted, shooing him off.

"That's not how you treat your savior," Soul smirked, swiftly coming up to me and stealing a kiss. It kind of lasted longer than expected and resulted in me being backed into a railing, my fingers gripping Soul's shoulders, trying to stay calm.

Then his lips left mine.

I must've looked like I wanted more because he said, "Don't want your pops coming after me."

I chuckled, nearly stumbling over, my head still buzzing. I wasn't used to his kisses yet. They still set my senses on fire. And I kinda liked it.

Then I hobbled up the steps, dramatically blowing a kiss to Soul, waving good bye.

My father was cooking when I reached the apartment. God. He was acting so strange lately. I kept wondering what had brought this behavior. He was acting more like a father than a stupid drunk. Something I wasn't normally used to.

The smell of pasta filled my nose. Delicious.

"Maka! Quick sit down and rest! The bread will be out shortly," He said as he drained the pasta and turned off the timer. Then he pulled out the french bread from the oven and began to slice it. All of it. It was a baguette so it was freaking long.

My father must've overestimated my appetite sometimes.

"Oy, Papa," I addressed him. "What's with the dinner?"

"Can't I make food for my daughter?" He wondered.

"Well," I tore a piece of bread in half. "You've been acting weird all of a sudden. More responsible. That doesn't happen." I glared at him, not feeling guilty at all.

My dad sighed, sitting down and setting a plate of spaghetti in front of me and one inf front of him.

"Well a few months ago," he started. "MAMA EMAILED ME!"

I choked on the bread and coughed everywhere.

"Wh-what?" So that was why he had suddenly shaped up.

"She said that she might visit by the end of the year!" He looked so happy and I started to wonder if he was still in love with her.

I was so excited though. I thought that I might've never seen her again. But now I had something to look forward to after the summer. Yes.

All of a sudden the giant pieces of bread and large mop of pasta seemed immensely appetizing and I had to devour all of it.

I was, for once, proud to be my Papa's girl. It wasn't easy for a drunk to suddenly become responsible...yet ...he now dropped the girls. For me. After all this time.

Time does heal.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note: <strong>Not last chapter...but coming to a conclusion! Thanks for sticking with it. But yeah. I basically found out my ankle is permanently damaged for life and my meniscus is damaged and I can't dance at my nationals that I worked an entire year for. Life. Anyways, reviewww!


	37. Chapter 37

_One book in one year, written about your partner. Game on. Oh wait, they're writing about you too. [SoMa, TsuStar, KidLiz]  
><em>

_Rated M for Mature content_

_Genre: Romance, Suspense_

.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o._  
><em>

_Fiction_

_Sunshinegirl09  
><em>

Soul

Okay so maybe I should've told Maka that I was coming early. She was reluctant to get out of bed. Because I knew where her spare key was, I took the liberty of letting myself into her apartment, something I'd done many times before.

"Maka!" I barked. "Come on!"

She just kept rolling under her covers, refusing.

"No, I need sleep!" She argued, staying under, rejecting the sunlight from the windows, where I'd drawn the curtains.

That stubborn girl.

I ripped the covers off of her exposing her in her pajamas with a very pissed expression. I pretended not to notice.

"Maka," I said, pulling her shoulders up and retrieving her slippers from under the bed. "We are going out to breakfast because it is the last day of school and _because _you can apparently go." I motioned towards her crutches, implying that she was going to school even if she needed rest.

Finally, she moaned, getting up.

"Thanks for telling me," She mumbled, yawning. "Now get out of my room so I can change."

I walked out and shut the door and suddenly ran into something. Maka's dad.

"YOU PUNK!" He cried. "What are you trying to _do _to my daughter!"

I rolled my eyes. Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed.

"Nothing," I remarked. "I actually just walked through the door-"

"You...WHAT?" Her dad bellowed.

I plugged my ears, frowning.

"I didn't do anything," I replied coolly, taking a seat at their table, waiting for my girlfriend.

Maka came out the door, her school uniform loosely worn as if she'd gotten dressed as fast as possible.

"Papa," she scolded. "Are you ridiculing Soul again?"

They started to have a glare war...over me.

I didn't know what the big deal was. We basically lived at each others houses. Maka's home was my second home and mine was her second home. That was just the way it was. Except for Wes. Wes still pissed Maka off. And me. That's why we locked ourselves away from him. I hadn't had a conversation with him since that night...where everything went wrong.

"Do you want breakfast?" Her father asked her.

Maka shook her head.

"No, I'm fine," She gave me a wink. Oh so she didn't hate me.

"But you neeed to eeeaat!"

Maka slung her book bag over her shoulder and motioned for me to follow, giving her dad an awkward side hug before crutching out the apartment. I followed her, coming into step with her pace. There was something so right about the two of us.

"So where are we going?" She wondered.

"You'll see," I answered with a smirk.

Maka stopped asking questions about my mysterious self a long time ago.

We arrived at the bus stop and waited. I took out my iPod and tried to show her some new music. She still didn't get it but I liked the effort that she was making to connect to me. She got that same look as when she listened to me play the piano. And I only played for her.

"Wait, I don't get it," Maka stopped. "It should go 5,6,7,8 again but it stops and gets messed up."

I loved the confused look on her face.

"Sometimes that happens," I informed her. "But you don't think of it that way. It goes, 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8 ...1,2,3,4,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8."

I don't think my explanation helped her one bit. She was trying to think about it mathematically. And that didn't exactly work with music. While some music was math, your soul is what really makes it music. Just playing notes and counting is just playing notes and counting. It retains little musicality.

It's a good thing the bus arrived because I thought Maka's brain was about to fry.

We sat together and still shared ear pieces but this time, Maka stopped caring about the counting and just listened.

"This isn't in Japanese," She suddenly noticed.

I chuckled. Thirty seconds into the song she realized that it was in English.

"Yeah it's a song called, 'Love Today' by Mika," I responded.

"I don't really understand what they're saying," Maka said. "But I like it."

"Errybody gon lovue tuday!" We sounded nothing like the actual song.

We got off the bus and walked towards a cafe. It wasn't just any cafe. It was the one we'd run to in the pouring rain when we'd first decided to spill to each other secrets.

"Soul," Maka looked at me smirking.

She bounced happily through the doors. I followed and the smell of coffee filled my nostrils. Absolutely amazing.

Maka ordered a blueberry scone while I got a giant chocolate muffin and I ordered to iced coffees, blended. Maka claimed that she hated coffee but I was going to make her like it eventually. It was my favorite drink.

We sat and Maka took a sip of the substance, contemplating with a complex expression.

"This is really good," She uttered seriously, looking at in in confusion. "But there's coffee in it."

"Correction," I answered. "Coffee, Milk, and Ice. And probably some sugar."

Maka nodded, still sipping it. She couldn't stop. I had to remind her that she had a scone.

Maka

I was sipping my delicious drink when the doors burst open. I only knew one person who made entrances like that. Black Star walked in, Tsubaki under his arm.

Then I looked at Soul. This wasn't coincidental.

"I invited a few people," Soul answered as Kid and Liz walked through the doors too.

A smile crept up my face.

"Why do you think I wanted to get you up so fast?" Soul asked. "Couldn't be late like these bastards."

But we winked at our friends who got their drinks and took seats by us.

"How's my bestie?" Tsubaki wondered making the boys roll their eyes.

"Great," I replied. "I like coffee now. Well, sorta. Iced coffee with milk and sugar."

Tsubaki sighed.

"That's not legit," She laughed.

"So guys," I changed the subject, laughing too though. "Last day of school!"

Black Star stood up and almost choked on his shake. He hated coffee.

"YOU GUYS LET'S HAVE AN AWESOME SUMMER!" He announced cheerfully.

We all did a cheers to that, raising our cups, mugs etc.

"We just have to survive chemistry finals," Kid reminded him.

Black Star looked like he wanted to punch him.

"Remember," Tsubaki patter Black Stars shoulder. "I helped you study for those."

I don't think any amount of help from Tsubaki or anyone would help Black Star on those.

"But we don't have to do anything in Marie's class," I said. "Stories are all turned in."

"Good point," Liz agreed. "Just relaxation."

We had a class to look forward to but after today, it was summer!

After a long memorable talk of the entire year, we concluded that we had to leave unless we wanted to be late on the last day. We walked outside and the drinks still weren't finished. I was okay with that because it was blazing hot.

"Guys," Liz said. "Where's the bus?" We looked around and realized that the local bus wouldn't come for another hour.

"Oh, shit."

We were gonna have to run. Everyone looked down at my crutches. Life. We were obviously smart when it came to planning this. Never mind. I had no part in the planning.

Soul scooped me up and Black Star grabbed my crutches.

"Come on," Soul said. "Only three miles."

I shook my head. This was ridiculous. He wasn't going to carry me piggy back the whole way there. It didn't matter how light I was.

The girls looked at each other reluctantly before we finally broke into a run. Well I wasn't moving. I just wrapped my arms around Soul's neck and occasionally sipped my drink.

"You know I can crutch-run," I informed Soul.

He just shook his head, dismissing the idea.

Suddenly Tsubaki burst out laughing, nearly coughing because she was running at the same time.

"This would happen to us," She guffawed. "This _would _happen to _us_."

True.

Soul sounded a little tired after the second mile so I purposely jumped off his back and patted his shoulder. Then I retrieved my crutches from Black Star.

"Guys," I said. "We're not gonna be late."

Then we started to speed walk the last mile and the five minute bell sounded once we got close to the school.

Our faces were bright red and students just stared at us as if we were stupid. The cool air of the school building was a sweet release though.

"Locker," I moaned tiredly, taking a sip of my half melted drink. Soul gathered my books, all of them and put them in my book bag. They all had to be cleaned out by the end of the day.

The atmosphere in Marie-sensei's classroom was amazing. Everyone was so happy, eating snacks, talking, drawing on the board. It was just overall ... greatness.

"Guys!" Marie sensei called. "For the rest of the class...HAVE FUN!"

People pulled out board games, more food, other crap. I considered pulling out a book but Soul would just glare at me until I put it away. So I decided to sip my drink and talk to my best friends. Not about the events of the horrible night we went through, but about the good times we had this year. The chocolate, basketball, the dance, the Christmas party, shopping (excluding the creeper) and everything else.

Even how much we all hated each other.

"Come on," I said. "Tsubaki and I were always friends."

Soul rolled his eyes.

"Maka," he answered. "You couldn't get along with anyone."

I laughed.

"Lies! I couldn't get along with jerks!" I protested.

"We didn't really fight," Tsubaki pointed to Black Star. "I just felt-"

"Overshadowed?" Liz suggest, giggling.

Tsubaki nodded.

"HOW! MY GREATNESS MAY OVERSHADOW BUT THE SPOTLIGHT-"

"Makaaaa CHOP!" That shut Black Star up.

Everyone else seemed to think my violent action was hilarious.

"Hey everyone listen up!" Marie announced. "I have the results of your guys' assignment!"

Everyone silenced, looking at her in awe, a few murmurs passed throughout the room.

My fist clenched. This was the moment.

"And I have the top scores," She gave us a smirk.

"READ IT! READ IT!" People chanted.

Everyone watched her in suspense.

"The highest score is," She looked up from her paper. "Soul and Maka, for excellent character development." Soul's eyes and mine met. "However," She added, a glint gleaming in her one showing eye. "I get the feeling that this story isn't fictional."

_~fin~_

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note: <strong>DONE! Omg. My longest story. I really hoped everyone enjoyed! Thank you for staying with me through my difficult school year! And like I promised, I made a Soul Eater music video (amv) for the fanfic. It's made with the song that inspired me to write the fanfiction. The song is called Fiction by Beast (B2ST)

Here's my music video (remove spaces) replace the dot with a period  
>w w w . you tube dotcom  watch?v=WFkIUYttzeQ

Thanks for reading guys! And enjoy the video. Hope you can pick out all the scenes ;)


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